Strong graduate outcomes with earnings well above peer institutions. Robust earnings growth over time.
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.
UC Davis graduates experience steady earnings acceleration over time, with median income rising from $58,461 six years after enrollment to $71,209 at eight years and reaching $80,838 at ten years. This represents robust 38.3% growth from the six-year to ten-year measurement point, indicating sustained career advancement and skill development.
How outcomes compare to similar institutions.
Strong relative performance — graduates earn notably more than peers at comparable institutions.
Financial justification for the investment.
Excellent affordability. Median debt of $13,000 is well under annual earnings, enabling comfortable repayment.
UC Davis graduates maintain exceptionally manageable debt levels with a median of $13,000, ranking at the 88th percentile nationally and sitting $7,000 below the peer median of $20,000. Debt distribution spans from $5,500 at the 25th percentile to $20,397 at the 75th percentile, indicating controlled borrowing across the student population.
University of California-Davis delivers exceptional return on educational investment, ranking at the 93.9th percentile nationally with excellent tier performance. Graduates earn $16,620 beyond expectations compared to similar students, placing UC Davis at the 92.4th percentile for earnings uplift and demonstrating superior value creation.
Approximately 25.2% of UC Davis graduates continue to graduate or professional study according to program-mix analysis with high confidence. This sub...
Program mix explains much of the earnings story.
UC Davis's strongest earnings outcomes concentrate in engineering and quantitative fields, with Civil Engineering leading at $91,243, followed by Mechanical Engineering at $86,137, and Mathematical Statistics at $80,650. Applied Economics represents the largest high-earning cohort with 606 graduates earning $71,906, demonstrating scalable strong outcomes.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology delivers $65,761 earnings among 201 graduates, while Environmental Science produces $63,206 among 272 students. The diversity of high-performing programs across STEM and social sciences supports UC Davis's overall return performance, creating multiple pathways for students to achieve strong career outcomes.
See which programs drive the strongest earnings and career trajectories
Earnings distribution at UC Davis spans from $53,021 at the 25th percentile to $122,634 at the 75th percentile, creating a 2.3:1 ratio that reflects meaningful variation in career outcomes. Low-income graduates earn $69,600, indicating strong mobility potential for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
