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Career outcomes brief

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# Purdue University-Main Campus Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated September 30, 2026

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

**On this page**+

## How much do Purdue graduates earn?

The reported median is $81,751 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $16,141 per year.

Four years after graduating, completers at Purdue University-Main Campus who are working and not enrolled post median earnings of $81,751, a level in the 90th percentile nationally. That figure runs above the $65,610 median of comparable institutions (same type and size) by $16,141.

Graduates earn about $3,511 more than the model expects for similar students, placing the university in the 67th percentile for [earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/). [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) the return pillar 89th 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 $17,174. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $13,663. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $7,395.

Graduates of Purdue University-Main Campus earn about $3,511 more than the model expects for similar students. The earnings scenarios show the variation across the university's program mix: a downside scenario of $54,891 and an upside scenario of $115,397 four years after completion.

The highest-earning programs illustrate this spread. Computer Science completers earn a median of $146,685, and Computer Engineering graduates earn $121,462.

Materials Engineering, a smaller program with 74 degrees awarded, reaches a median of $107,557.

An estimated 26.6% 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 indicates that a sizable portion of completers may be building additional human capital outside the earnings snapshot.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$81,751

**Rank for difference from expectations**
67th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**Purdue reported median**
$81,751

**Peer schools comparable schools · $16,141 below Purdue**
$65,610

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $3,511 below Purdue**
$78,240

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 Purdue first-year students return?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2025-26

**Returned the following fall**
92.4%

Source: Purdue University-Main Campus Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention.

## How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $54,891 to $115,397, around the reported median of $81,751. Compare the lower scenario with [Purdue borrowing and monthly payments](/school/purdue-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**
$54,891

**Median · reported**
$81,751

**Higher estimate**
$115,397

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 Purdue 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).

Purdue graduates’ reported earnings are $3,511 above that expectation, the 67th 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 Purdue 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.**
+$17,174

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$13,663

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
+$3,511

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

## Which fields at Purdue report the highest earnings?

Purdue University-Main Campus's largest bachelor's program, Computer Science, awarded 439 degrees and carries an Azimuth national rank of #27 with median earnings of $146,685 four years after completion. Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $121,462 and the program ranks #24 nationally on 297 degrees awarded.

Further down the earnings scale, Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians reports a median of $86,891 and an Azimuth national rank of #6 with 307 degrees awarded. Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering reaches $97,332 and ranks #16 nationally on 298 degrees awarded, showing how engineering and computer-science fields at the university span a wide earnings band.

Purdue University-Main Campus has 63 ranked bachelor's programs, and the five largest by degrees awarded are concentrated in engineering and computing. Computer Science leads with 439 degrees awarded, a national rank of #27, and median earnings of $146,685 four years after completion.

Mechanical Engineering follows with 430 degrees awarded, ranked #19 nationally, and median earnings of $102,572. Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians awarded 307 degrees, ranks #6, and shows median earnings of $86,891.

Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, ranked #16 nationally, and Computer Engineering, ranked #24 nationally, round out the largest programs, with 298 and 297 degrees awarded and median earnings of $97,332 and $121,462, respectively.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Computer Science**
$146,685

**Computer Engineering**
$121,462

**Materials Engineering**
$107,557

**Industrial Engineering**
$107,031

**Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering**
$105,396

**Chemical Engineering**
$104,514

**Statistics**
$104,047

**Mechanical Engineering**
$102,572

[Explore Purdue program cohorts and field ranks](/school/purdue-university-main-campus/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the university's program mix show a downside of $54,891, a typical outcome of $81,751, and an upside of $115,397. The spread shows the variation in earnings by field: Computer Science reaches a median of $146,685 four years after completion, while Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians, with 307 degrees awarded, sits at $86,891.

Four years after completing a degree at Purdue University-Main Campus, the median earnings of the 6,203 federally aided completers in the cohort reach $81,751. That places the university in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions nationally, and it sits above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $16,141.

Graduates earn about $3,511 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that ranks in the 67th percentile. The university's program mix yields a typical earnings scenario of $81,751, with a downside scenario of $54,891 and an upside scenario reaching $115,397.

An estimated 26.6% of programs' graduates continue to graduate study, derived from the program mix.

## 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/).