Solid graduate outcomes with earnings above the peer average.
What graduates earn 10 years after enrollment.
Annual salary at 10 years
Lower quartile earnings
Upper quartile earnings
How graduate earnings grow in the decade after enrollment.
Swarthmore College graduates experience substantial earnings growth across the post-graduation decade. Median earnings begin at $56,211 six years after enrollment, increase to $72,890 at eight years, and reach $80,257 at the ten-year mark.
How outcomes compare to similar institutions.
Graduates from this institution significantly outperform peers — earnings are 59% higher than similar schools.
Financial justification for the investment.
Excellent affordability. Median debt of $17,500 is well under annual earnings, enabling comfortable repayment.
Swarthmore College graduates maintain manageable debt levels compared to national and peer benchmarks. Median student debt reaches $17,500, with debt ranging from $8,000 at the 25th percentile to $26,374 at the 75th percentile.
Swarthmore College demonstrates exceptional return on educational investment, ranking at the 96.3rd percentile nationally with top-tier performance. Graduates earn $3,438 beyond expectations compared to similar students at peer institutions, placing Swarthmore at the 68.9th percentile for earnings uplift.
Approximately 19.1% of Swarthmore graduates continue to graduate or professional study, based on program mix analysis with low confidence. This estim...
Program mix explains much of the earnings story.
Swarthmore's strongest earnings outcomes concentrate in technical and analytical fields, with significant variation across academic programs. Artificial Intelligence graduates earn $157,852 annually, nearly double the institutional median, while Algebra and Number Theory graduates earn $125,015.
Applied Economics produces solid $105,566 earnings with the largest enrollment at 84 students, indicating both strong outcomes and institutional commitment to the program. American Government graduates earn $80,009, close to the institutional median, while Biology graduates earn $25,194, likely reflecting pre-professional pathways toward graduate study rather than immediate career entry.
See which programs drive the strongest earnings and career trajectories
The earnings distribution at Swarthmore College reveals substantial variation in post-graduation outcomes. Earnings span from $50,812 at the 25th percentile to $138,207 at the 75th percentile, representing a 2.7:1 ratio between top and bottom quartile outcomes.
