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Career outcomes brief

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# St Olaf College Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/st-olaf-college/)[Cost & aid](/school/st-olaf-college/cost/)Outcomes[Admissions](/school/st-olaf-college/admissions/)[Majors](/school/st-olaf-college/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/st-olaf-college/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much do St Olaf College graduates earn?

The reported median is $56,323 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is \-$11,927 per year.

Mobility is St Olaf College's strongest Azimuth pillar, while return sits in the 23rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $18,457 less than the model expects for similar students.

[Earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between graduate earnings and model expectations, falls in the 5th 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 $2,750.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $21,207. Median earnings four years after completion are $56,323, in the 37th percentile for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; St Olaf College is $11,927 below it. Both comparisons point in the same direction.

Program choice coincides with a wide modeled earnings range at St Olaf College. The downside scenario is $44,203 and the upside scenario is $87,316; these are earnings scenarios from the program mix, not observed groups.

Four years after completion, program medians are $122,912 in Computer Science, $87,691 in Mathematics, and $84,559 in Economics. Those program figures show where the upper end of the modeled range appears.

Four-year earnings do not capture every completer’s path after college. An estimated 42.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Because the earnings measure covers completers who are working and not enrolled, those continuing study sit outside that snapshot.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$56,323

**Rank for difference from expectations**
5th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**St Olaf College reported median**
$56,323

**Peer schools comparable schools · $11,927 above St Olaf College**
$68,250

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $18,457 above St Olaf College**
$74,780

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 could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $44,203 to $87,316, around the reported median of $56,323. Compare the lower scenario with [St Olaf College borrowing and monthly payments](/school/st-olaf-college/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**
$44,203

**Median · reported**
$56,323

**Higher estimate**
$87,316

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 St Olaf 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](/methodology/#value-added).

St Olaf College graduates’ reported earnings are $18,457 below that expectation, the 5th 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 St Olaf College 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.**
+$2,750

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$21,207

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
\-$18,457

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

## Which fields at St Olaf College report the highest earnings?

At St Olaf College, published program medians show a sharp divide between the highest-earning fields and more moderate outcomes. Computer Science had median earnings of $122,912 four years after completion, with 24 degrees awarded.

Mathematics followed at $87,691 four years after completion and 75 degrees awarded. Economics recorded $84,559 four years after completion across 80 degrees awarded.

At a more moderate level, Research and Experimental Psychology posted median earnings of $56,282 with 75 degrees awarded. The contrast shows that the school-level earnings picture can look quite different depending on field.

Social Sciences accounts for 18.2% of bachelor’s degrees awarded at St Olaf College, and earnings vary across the college’s larger fields four years after completion. Biology awarded 111 degrees and had median earnings of $62,818.

Economics awarded 80 degrees, with median earnings of $84,559. Mathematics awarded 75 degrees and had median earnings of $87,691, while Research and Experimental Psychology awarded 75 degrees and had median earnings of $56,282.

Political Science awarded 67 degrees, with median earnings of $57,869. The larger programs report a wide range of median earnings.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Computer Science**
$122,912

**Mathematics**
$87,691

**Economics**
$84,559

**Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness**
$66,314

**Biology, General**
$62,818

**Sociology and Anthropology**
$60,225

**Political Science and Government**
$57,869

**Research and Experimental Psychology**
$56,282

[Explore St Olaf College program cohorts and field ranks](/school/st-olaf-college/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

From the program mix, the earnings scenarios put the downside at $44,203, the typical outcome at $56,323, and the upside at $87,316. Computer Science has $122,912 four years after completion; among the largest programs, Research and Experimental Psychology is lowest at $56,282. The spread shows variation by field rather than observed groups.

For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, St Olaf College has median earnings of $56,323 four years after completion, based on 562 completers. Azimuth places those earnings in the 37th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Program-mix earnings scenarios span $44,203 in the downside case, $56,323 in the typical case, and $87,316 in the upside case. [Earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, provides another lens.

Graduates earn about $18,457 less than the model expects for similar students. An estimated 42.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The earnings percentile and the model comparison both indicate earnings below the broader benchmark.

## 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/).