Northwestern Career Outcomes: $109K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do Northwestern graduates earn?

The reported median is $109,275 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $41,025 per year.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $109,275. That figure sits in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, and Azimuth ranks the university #33 for return.

Graduates earn about $8,042 more than expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 79th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,844. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,802. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,646.

The highest-earning programs at Northwestern University show the spread of outcomes four years after completion. Information Science/Studies graduates earn a median of $163,740, Computer Science completers reach $155,106, and Applied Mathematics graduates earn $148,740.

The earnings scenarios span from a downside of $52,192 to an upside of $137,236. The university's largest program, Economics, awards 335 bachelor's degrees and posts a median of $126,006, while the second-largest field, Radio, Television, and Digital Communication with 253 degrees awarded, shows a median of $51,471. That spread across the largest programs coincides with the wide scenario range.

An estimated 34.8% 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, the median earnings understate the eventual earnings of the sizable share of completers who pursue advanced degrees.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $109,275
Rank for difference from expectations: 79th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Northwestern reported median: $109,275
Peer schools comparable schools · $41,025 below Northwestern: $68,250
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $8,042 below Northwestern: $101,233

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.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $52,192
Median · reported: $109,275
Higher estimate: $137,236

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 explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. Read about the move to four-year earnings.

Do Northwestern 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.

Northwestern graduates’ reported earnings are $8,042 above that expectation, the 79th 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 Northwestern caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Northwestern report the highest earnings?

Northwestern University awards bachelor's degrees across 29 fields with published four-year earnings, and the highest-earning program is Information Science/Studies, where completers earn a median of $163,740 four years after completion. Computer Science follows at $155,106 with 102 degrees awarded, and Applied Mathematics reaches $148,740 on 34 degrees awarded.

Economics is both the most awarded program at 335 degrees and one of the highest-earning, with a median of $126,006 and an Azimuth national rank of #18. By contrast, Radio, Television, and Digital Communication, the second-largest program at 253 degrees awarded, shows a median of $51,471.

Psychology and Biology sit between those poles, with medians of $73,646 and $71,181 respectively.

Azimuth ranks 24 of Northwestern University's programs nationally, and earnings data are available for 29 programs. The largest program, Economics, awarded 335 degrees and shows median earnings of $126,006 four years after completion, ranking #18 nationally.

The highest-earning program is Information Science/Studies, with median earnings of $163,740 and 78 degrees awarded. Computer Science follows at $155,106 (102 degrees), and Applied Mathematics at $148,740 (34 degrees).

The top-ranked program is Information Science/Studies, which holds a national rank of #1 and median earnings of $163,740.

Further analysis

Earnings vary widely by field at Northwestern University. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix place the downside at $52,192, the typical outcome at $109,275, and the upside at $137,236.

The highest-earning program, Information Science/Studies, reaches a median of $163,740 four years after completion, while the lowest-earning among the largest programs, Radio, Television, and Digital Communication, sits at $51,471.

Four years after completion, Northwestern University graduates earn a median of $109,275, a figure that places the university in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings cohort numbers 2,653 completers.

Graduates earn about $8,042 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome of $109,275, with a downside scenario of $52,192 and an upside scenario of $137,236.

An estimated 34.8% of programs' graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. The median earnings run $41,025 above the $68,250 median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, 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.