Rhode Island College Outcomes: $59K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do Rhode Island College graduates earn?

The reported median is $59,430 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is $2,129 per year.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $59,430, at the 49th percentile. That is $2,129 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the return at the 58th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,454 more than expects for similar students.

That puts the gap at the 77th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $5,457.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $1,997. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $661.

The earnings scenarios show a range of about $30,000 between the downside and the upside. The downside earnings scenario is $49,413 and the upside is $79,950; both are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups.

At the top of the range, Allied Health Professions graduates earn $84,238 four years after completion, from 37 degrees awarded. Computer Science follows at $83,259, and the largest program, Nursing, reports $83,068.

An estimated 29.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, so those continuing their education are outside that snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $59,430
Rank for difference from expectations: 78th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Rhode Island College reported median: $59,430
Peer schools comparable schools · $2,129 below Rhode Island College: $57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $7,454 below Rhode Island College: $51,976

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: $49,413
Median · reported: $59,430
Higher estimate: $79,950

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 Rhode Island 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.

Rhode Island College graduates’ reported earnings are $7,454 above that expectation, the 78th 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 Rhode Island College caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Rhode Island College report the highest earnings?

The earnings spread across programs at Rhode Island College is wide, with health and technical fields at the top and social sciences and services at the more moderate end. Allied Health Professions leads with median earnings of $84,238 four years after completion, from 37 degrees awarded.

Computer Science follows at $83,259 across 44 degrees awarded. The largest program, Nursing, posts $83,068 from 151 degrees awarded.

On the more moderate-earning side, Psychology graduates earn $52,758 four years out, from 144 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks it #138 nationally within its field. Social Work reports $53,312 across 101 degrees awarded.

Health Professions accounts for 24.9% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Business at 13.7% and Psychology at 11.3%. The university has 20 nationally ranked program, and earnings data is available for 30 fields.

The largest single program is Nursing, with 151 degrees awarded and median earnings of $83,068 four years after completion. Psychology is the best-ranked program, at #138 nationally and #2 in Rhode Island, with 144 degrees awarded and median earnings of $52,758.

The highest-earning program is Allied Health Professions, at $84,238, from 37 degrees awarded. Computer Science follows at $83,259, with 44 degrees awarded.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from a downside of $49,413 to a typical $59,430 and an upside of $79,950. The spread reflects the variation by field: Allied Health Professions graduates earn $84,238 four years out, while among the largest programs, Health Sciences sits at $50,854.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Rhode Island College who are working and not enrolled show a median of $59,430. That result comes from 1,922 completers.

It sits $2,129 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $7,454 more than the model expects for similar students.

That gap falls at the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median itself sits at the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The program mix yields earnings scenarios from $49,413 on the downside to $79,950 on the upside, with $59,430 as the typical outcome. An estimated 29.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

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.