Career outcomes brief

Saint Cloud State University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated October 1, 2026

How much do Saint Cloud State University graduates earn?

The reported median is $59,194 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is $1,893 per year.

Azimuth places the return at the 51st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $59,194, in the 48th percentile.

That is $1,893 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $2,005 more than expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 62nd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,547.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,542. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,163.

The spread between the downside and upside earnings scenarios at Saint Cloud State University is wide: from $47,559 to $86,881 four years after completion. That range reflects the variation in outcomes across the university's 36 programs with published earnings data.

The highest-earning programs show what is possible at the upper end. Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $107,133, Computer Science completers reach $103,765, and Electrical Engineering graduates earn $90,009.

An estimated 28.4% 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: $59,194
Rank for difference from expectations: 62nd percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Saint Cloud State University reported median: $59,194
Peer schools comparable schools · $1,893 below Saint Cloud State University: $57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $2,005 below Saint Cloud State University: $57,189

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: $47,559
Median · reported: $59,194
Higher estimate: $86,881

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 Saint Cloud State University 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.

Saint Cloud State University graduates’ reported earnings are $2,005 above that expectation, the 62nd 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 Saint Cloud State University caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Saint Cloud State University report the highest earnings?

Engineering and computing programs earn the most at Saint Cloud State University, while large fields in business and communication sit at moderate levels. Computer Engineering leads at $107,133 four years after completion on 30 degrees awarded.

Computer Science follows at $103,765 on 39 degrees awarded, and Electrical Engineering reaches $90,009 on 16 degrees awarded. The university awards the most degrees in broader fields where earnings are more moderate.

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies shows a median of $56,547 four years after completion on 98 degrees awarded. Communication and Media Studies reaches $56,388 on 81 degrees awarded.

Finance lands at $70,259 (94 degrees awarded). The distance between the top program median and these large programs reflects the range of early pay across fields.

Saint Cloud State University publishes earnings data for 36 bachelor's programs. The five largest by degrees awarded span technology, business, health, and communication, and their median earnings four years after completion range from $56,388 in Communication and Media Studies to $84,470 in Nursing.

The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, where completers earn a median of $107,133 four years after completion, with 30 degrees awarded. Computer Science follows at $103,765 (39 degrees awarded), and Electrical Engineering at $90,009 (16 degrees awarded).

The largest program, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management, awarded 101 degrees and shows a median of $80,331, which sits just below the national field median.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

Computer Engineering: $107,133
Computer Science: $103,765
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering: $90,009
Mechanical Engineering: $87,503
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing: $84,470
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management: $80,331
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions: $78,067
Accounting and Related Services: $76,080

Explore Saint Cloud State University program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

From the program mix, downside, typical and upside earnings scenarios run from $47,559 to $59,194 and up to $86,881, reflecting wide variation by field. The median for Computer Engineering is $107,133 four years after completion, while Communication and Media Studies, one of the largest programs, shows $56,388.

Saint Cloud State University graduates who are working and not enrolled four years after completion earn a median of $59,194 from a cohort of 2,284 federally aided completers. That is $1,893 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places that earnings level at the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,005 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations measure the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. That result sits at the 62nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $47,559 on the downside to $86,881 on the upside, with a typical scenario of $59,194. An estimated 28.4% 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.