Swarthmore College Outcomes: $66K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do Swarthmore College graduates earn?

The reported median is $65,618 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $55,915 as its benchmark; the difference is $9,703 per year.

Azimuth places the return for Swarthmore College in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $65,618.

That places the college in the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median is $9,703 above the $55,915 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The earnings scenarios show a wide range, from $49,428 on the downside to $136,949 on the upside. The scenarios reflect lower- and higher-earning program clusters.

At the higher end, Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn a median of $150,942 four years after completion, and Economics graduates earn $128,051. Both sit well above the college-wide median.

An estimated 38.2% 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.

How many Swarthmore College students return and finish their degrees?

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

Returned the following fall: 98.0%
Completed within six years: 91.6%
Pell recipients completed within six years: 89.3%

Source: Swarthmore College Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention; B4–B11 six-year completion. Retention and completion follow different entering cohorts.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $49,428
Median · reported: $65,618
Higher estimate: $136,949

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 Swarthmore 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.

That comparison is not reported for Swarthmore College. 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 Swarthmore College caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Swarthmore College report the highest earnings?

The highest-earning programs at Swarthmore College are also among its largest. Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn a median of $150,942 four years after completion, from 54 degrees awarded.

Economics is the largest single program, with 80 degrees awarded and median earnings of $128,051. Azimuth ranks it #19 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field, and #3 in Pennsylvania.

Further down the earnings scale, Political Science awards 36 degrees and its graduates earn a median of $58,372. Biology is similar in size and outcome, with 30 degrees awarded and median earnings of $57,754.

The spread between the top and bottom of these large programs is wide, and the fields that pay the most are not the ones that award the most degrees.

Social Sciences accounts for 24.3% of bachelor's degrees awarded, ahead of Biological Sciences at 10.0% and Computer & Information Sciences at 10.0%. Azimuth ranks 1 program nationally.

Economics is the largest, at 80 degrees awarded a year, and Azimuth ranks it #19 within its field. Graduates earn a median of $128,051 four years after completion.

The highest-earning program is Computer and Information Sciences, at $150,942 from 54 degrees a year. Economics follows, and Engineering at $78,519. The largest program is also one of the best-paid.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from a downside of $49,428 to a typical outcome of $65,618 and an upside of $136,949. The spread is wide: Computer and Information Sciences reaches $150,942 four years after completion, while Biology, the lowest-earning among the largest programs, stands at $57,754.

The median earnings for Swarthmore College graduates sit at $65,618 four years after completion, drawn from a cohort of 200 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that figure at the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios based on the program mix give a sense of the range. The typical earnings scenario is $65,618, with a downside scenario of $49,428 and an upside scenario of $136,949.

These are estimates from the mix of fields, not observed groups of graduates. An estimated 38.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

That share means the four-year earnings picture captures most but not all of the early-career outcomes.

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.