Oberlin College Career Outcomes: $52K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do Oberlin College graduates earn?

The reported median is $51,715 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is -$16,535 per year.

Graduates of Oberlin College earn a median of $51,715 four years after completing a degree, which is $16,535 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That places the median in the 22nd percentile nationally.

Azimuth ranks the return at the 47th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The return picture is mixed: earnings sit below the peer median, and the pillar's position is near the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings four years after completion vary widely by field at Oberlin College. The earnings scenarios span from a downside of $43,448 to an upside of $86,772, with the typical scenario at $51,715.

That spread reflects the range of outcomes across the college's 11 programs with published data. The highest-earning programs show the upper end: Computer and Information Sciences completers earn a median of $129,395, Economics completers earn $87,120, and Political Science completers earn $70,689.

An estimated 40.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the college's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings figures capture only those working and not enrolled, the median understates the eventual earnings of the sizable share of completers who pursue advanced degrees.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $43,448
Median · reported: $51,715
Higher estimate: $86,772

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 Oberlin College 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.

That comparison is not reported for Oberlin College. 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 Oberlin College caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Oberlin College report the highest earnings?

Computer and Information Sciences is the highest-earning bachelor's program at Oberlin College, with a median of $129,395 four years after completion on 44 degrees awarded. Economics is the next highest, with a median of $87,120 on 54 degrees awarded.

The largest program, Music, awarded 140 degrees and shows a median of $43,343. Psychology reaches $48,109 on 68 degrees awarded.

Both programs sit below the top-earning fields. The spread between the highest-earning and largest programs shows that earnings vary widely by field at the college.

Oberlin College publishes earnings data for 11 bachelor's programs, and the figures show a wide spread between the largest fields and the highest earners. The largest program, Music, awarded 140 degrees and shows a median of $43,343 four years after completion.

Biology follows with 78 degrees awarded and a median of $44,095, while Psychology awarded 68 degrees and reports a median of $48,109. The highest-earning program is Computer and Information Sciences, where completers earn a median of $129,395 four years after finishing.

Economics is the second-highest earner, with a median of $87,120 and 54 degrees awarded. The spread between the top-earning program and the largest program is wide, reflecting considerable variation by field.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the college's program mix show how earnings vary by field. The downside scenario, reflecting lower-earning program clusters, is $43,448, while the typical scenario is $51,715 and the upside scenario reaches $86,772.

Anchoring the range in named programs, Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn a median of $129,395 four years after completion, while Music, the largest program with 140 degrees awarded, sits at $43,343.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $51,715 at Oberlin College. That is $16,535 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and Azimuth places the figure in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings cohort is 346 completers. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix put the typical figure at $51,715, with a downside scenario of $43,448 and an upside scenario of $86,772.

The spread between the downside and upside is wide. An estimated 40.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

That share means a large portion of the graduating class is likely pursuing further education rather than full-time work at the four-year mark.

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.