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Career outcomes brief

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# Texas Tech University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/texas-tech-university/)[Cost & aid](/school/texas-tech-university/cost/)Outcomes[Admissions](/school/texas-tech-university/admissions/)[Majors](/school/texas-tech-university/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/texas-tech-university/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much do Texas Tech graduates earn?

The reported median is $66,144 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $534 per year.

The return pillar at Texas Tech University sits in the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,096 more than the model expects for similar students, a level in the 63rd percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,537. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,441.

The STEM component adds $2,234 within the measured factors. Four years after completion, the median earnings reach $66,144, in the 69th percentile.

That figure runs above the peer median of $65,610 by $534 among comparable institutions (same type and size).

The downside earnings scenario for Texas Tech University is $51,535 and the upside scenario reaches $94,867, a spread that reflects the mix of programs at the university. Several engineering and computing programs exceed even the upside scenario: Petroleum Engineering graduates earn a median of $139,864 four years after completion, and Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn $113,062.

Programs such as Psychology show a median of $53,051, a figure near the downside scenario.

An estimated 29.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the institution'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**
$66,144

**Rank for difference from expectations**
63rd percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**Texas Tech reported median**
$66,144

**Peer schools comparable schools · $534 below Texas Tech**
$65,610

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $2,096 below Texas Tech**
$64,048

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 many Texas Tech students return and finish their degrees?

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

**Returned the following fall**
85.0%

**Completed within six years**
69.7%

**Pell recipients completed within six years**
63.3%

Source: Texas Tech University 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?

The planning scenarios range from $51,535 to $94,867, around the reported median of $66,144. Compare the lower scenario with [Texas Tech borrowing and monthly payments](/school/texas-tech-university/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**
$51,535

**Median · reported**
$66,144

**Higher estimate**
$94,867

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 Texas Tech 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).

Texas Tech graduates’ reported earnings are $2,096 above that expectation, the 63rd 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 Texas Tech 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.**
+$10,537

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$8,441

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
+$2,096

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

## Which fields at Texas Tech report the highest earnings?

[Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) 46 bachelor's programs at Texas Tech University, spanning fields from engineering to the arts. The highest-earning program, Petroleum Engineering, shows a median of $139,864 four years after completion, with 43 degrees awarded.

Computer and Information Sciences follows at $113,062 and 252 degrees awarded. Business Administration and Management reports median earnings of $75,702 and an Azimuth national rank of #81 on 456 degrees awarded.

Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences earns $56,117 and holds the #1 national rank in its field, with 363 degrees awarded. Psychology, a moderate-earning field, reaches $53,051 and ranks #123 nationally.

Texas Tech University has 46 ranked bachelor's programs with earnings data. The largest is Business Administration and Management, with 456 degrees awarded and a national rank of #81, where graduates earn a median of $75,702 four years after completion.

Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences awarded 363 degrees and ranks #1 nationally, with median earnings of $56,117. Among the university's top-ranked programs, Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies holds the #2 spot with 35 degrees awarded and median earnings of $78,435.

Animal Sciences is ranked #3 nationally, awarded 199 degrees, and reports median earnings of $55,753. Petroleum Engineering, ranked #3, awarded 43 degrees and reports median earnings of $139,864.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Petroleum Engineering**
$139,864

**Computer and Information Sciences, General**
$113,062

**Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering**
$107,110

**Construction Engineering**
$102,312

**Chemical Engineering**
$99,747

**Industrial Engineering**
$98,266

**Mechanical Engineering**
$98,113

**Computer Engineering**
$92,615

[Explore Texas Tech program cohorts and field ranks](/school/texas-tech-university/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the university's program mix show a wide spread: the downside scenario sits at $51,535, the typical scenario at $66,144, and the upside scenario reaches $94,867. Anchoring the range in named programs, Petroleum Engineering reaches $139,864 at the high end, while Psychology sits at $53,051 at the lower end.

Four years after completion, the median earnings for Texas Tech University graduates stand at $66,144, based on 6,957 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that median in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The result sits above the median at comparable institutions (same type and size) of $65,610 by $534. Graduates earn about $2,096 more than the model expects for similar students.

That outcome ranks in the 63rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth models three earnings scenarios from the university's program mix: a typical outcome of $66,144, a downside of $51,535, and an upside of $94,867.

The model estimates that 29.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a share inferred from program mix rather than observed enrollment.

## 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/).