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Career outcomes brief

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# North Dakota State University-Main Campus Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/north-dakota-state-university-main-campus/)[Cost & aid](/school/north-dakota-state-university-main-campus/cost/)Outcomes[Admissions](/school/north-dakota-state-university-main-campus/admissions/)[Majors](/school/north-dakota-state-university-main-campus/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/north-dakota-state-university-main-campus/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much do North Dakota State University-Main Campus graduates earn?

The reported median is $67,679 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is $10,378 per year.

Graduates of North Dakota State University-Main Campus earn about $4,090 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,836.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,746. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,341.

Four years after completion, median earnings reach $67,679, in the 72nd percentile. That sits above the peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $10,378.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 77th percentile nationally. The earnings strength coincides with a program mix that leans toward Engineering and Health Professions, which together account for about three in ten degrees awarded.

The spread between the downside and upside earnings scenarios at North Dakota State University-Main Campus runs from $50,706 to $92,010, with the typical scenario at $67,679. That range reflects the variation in outcomes across the university's 47 programs with earnings data four years after completion.

The highest-earning fields illustrate the upper end. Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration completers earn a median of $125,175, Construction Engineering Technology/Technician graduates reach $95,019, and Electrical Engineering completers earn $94,510.

An estimated 26.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the university's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings figures capture only those working and not enrolled, this estimate suggests that a sizable share of completers may be building additional credentials outside the earnings snapshot.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$67,679

**Rank for difference from expectations**
69th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**North Dakota State University-Main Campus reported median**
$67,679

**Peer schools comparable schools · $10,378 below North Dakota State University-Main Campus**
$57,301

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $4,090 below North Dakota State University-Main Campus**
$63,589

School and program earnings use pooled 2017–18 and 2018–19 completion cohorts, measured in 2022 and 2023 and expressed in 2024 dollars. [How the model works](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

## How many North Dakota State University-Main Campus students return and finish their degrees?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2024-25

**Returned the following fall**
78.4%

**Completed within six years**
63.9%

**Pell recipients completed within six years**
55.0%

Source: North Dakota State University-Main Campus Common Data Set 2024-25, B22 retention; B4–B11 six-year completion. Retention and completion follow different entering cohorts.

## How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $50,706 to $92,010, around the reported median of $67,679. Compare the lower scenario with [North Dakota State University-Main Campus borrowing and monthly payments](/school/north-dakota-state-university-main-campus/cost/) to see how a smaller income could change your plan.

Modeled from the school’s program mix; not salary percentiles or a forecast for one graduate.

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

**Lower estimate**
$50,706

**Median · reported**
$67,679

**Higher estimate**
$92,010

Downside shows a lower-earning scenario based on the college’s mix of programs; upside shows a higher-earning scenario. Typical is the school’s reported median four years after completion. These are planning scenarios, not a forecast of your salary or percentiles of individual graduates.

[Why the downside matters](/analysis/median-roi-hides-a-harsh-reality/) explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. [Read about the move to four-year earnings](/analysis/college-scorecard-2026-4-year-vs-10-year-earnings-2-2/).

## Do North Dakota State University-Main Campus graduates earn more than expected?

Azimuth models what we would expect graduates to earn based on who the college enrolls, how selective it is and its local economy. The difference between that expectation and reported earnings is what Azimuth calls [value added](/methodology/#value-added).

North Dakota State University-Main Campus graduates’ reported earnings are $4,090 above that expectation, the 69th percentile for this measure. Unlike a peer comparison, it adjusts for who enrolls.

The breakdown separates the contribution attributed to observed factors from the remaining difference. Neither component establishes how much attending North Dakota State University-Main Campus caused a student to earn. [Read how expected earnings are estimated](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

What explains value-added earnings?

**Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.**
+$10,836

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$6,746

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
+$4,090

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

## Which fields at North Dakota State University-Main Campus report the highest earnings?

The highest-earning programs at North Dakota State University-Main Campus are concentrated in health sciences and engineering, but the largest programs by degrees awarded span a wider earnings range. Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration leads with median earnings of $125,175 four years after completion, from 58 degrees awarded.

[Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) it #4 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Mechanical Engineering, the second-largest program with 154 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $87,702 and a national rank of #183.

Nursing is the largest program at 204 degrees awarded, with earnings of $73,935 and a national rank of #290. At the more moderate end, Human Development and Family Studies awards 144 degrees and posts median earnings of $50,052.

Azimuth ranks it #37 nationally. The highest-paid program reports median earnings of $125,175, while the largest program reports $73,935.

North Dakota State University-Main Campus has 31 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, and the strongest among them sit in agriculture and the health sciences. Agricultural Production Operations is the top-ranked program, at #1 in its field, with 43 degrees awarded and median earnings of $83,779 four years after completion.

The largest program is Nursing, ranked #290 nationally, with 204 degrees awarded and median earnings of $73,935. Mechanical Engineering follows at 154 degrees and $87,702 in earnings, ranked #183 nationally.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration graduates earn $125,175, from 58 degrees a year, and it ranks #4 nationally. The three largest program families are Engineering, Business, and Health Professions, together accounting for nearly half of all bachelor's degrees.

A student drawn to the largest departments should know that the best-paid programs are not the largest ones.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration**
$125,175

**Construction Engineering Technology/Technician**
$95,019

**Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering**
$94,510

**Computer Engineering**
$92,878

**Mechanical Engineering**
$87,702

**Computer Science**
$87,562

**Agricultural Engineering**
$84,529

**Industrial Engineering**
$84,016

[Explore North Dakota State University-Main Campus program cohorts and field ranks](/school/north-dakota-state-university-main-campus/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Earnings at North Dakota State University-Main Campus depend heavily on field of study, a spread captured in earnings scenarios grounded in the university's program mix. The downside earnings scenario sits at $50,706, the typical scenario at $67,679, and the upside scenario reaches $92,010.

Anchoring that range in named programs, Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration graduates earn a median of $125,175 four years after completion, while Human Development and Family Studies, one of the largest fields, sits at $50,052.

Four years after completing a degree at North Dakota State University-Main Campus, the median earnings among the 3,061 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled are $67,679. That figure sits above the peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size), and it places the university in the 72nd percentile nationally.

Graduates earn about $4,090 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios, which reflect the university's program mix, point to a typical outcome that matches the institutional median, with a lower-bound scenario of $50,706 and an upper-bound scenario of $92,010.

An estimated 26.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. A median that clears the peer benchmark and earnings that run ahead of the model point the same way for graduates.

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. [About College Azimuth](/about/).