Career outcomes brief
University of California-Davis Career Outcomes & Earnings
How much do UC Davis graduates earn?
University of California-Davis reports median earnings of $73,086 four years after completion. Its lower and higher planning estimates are $53,882 and $96,806.
The lower and higher estimates reflect different mixes of program earnings. They are not observed salary percentiles, the pay of the lowest- and highest-paid quarters of graduates, or probabilities for an individual student.
- Lower estimate
- $53,882
- Median · reported
- $73,086
- Higher estimate
- $96,806
Earnings sources and definitions
The lower estimate lets you examine a plan with less income than the school-wide median. Compare it with costs and with the fields you are considering, while keeping the modeled estimates separate from reported earnings.
Azimuth ranks the return for University of California-Davis #335 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $10,086 more than expects for similar students, a level in the 83rd percentile.
The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,653. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $1,433.
Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,641. Four years after completion, completers who are working and not enrolled post a median of $73,086.
That figure runs above the peer median of $65,610 by $7,476 among comparable institutions (same type and size).
The university's earnings scenarios, anchored on its program mix, show a wide range: a downside of $53,882 and an upside of $96,806. These are earnings scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.
At the upper end, Computer Engineering completers earn a median of $145,422 four years after completion, while the largest program, Research and Experimental Psychology, has a median of $57,378 four years after completion. Engineering completers earn a median of $114,228 four years after completion.
An estimated 37.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the university'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.
Earnings by field
Among University of California-Davis programs with a reported four-year earnings value, the highest medians are: Computer Engineering ($145,422); Engineering, General ($114,228); Chemical Engineering ($102,649); Mechanical Engineering ($102,161); Biomedical/Medical Engineering ($98,504). These are earnings after completion for the covered cohort.
A program median describes the middle reported outcome in that group. It is not a starting-salary offer or a prediction for every graduate, and an earnings comparison does not by itself explain why fields differ.
Compare these results with the subjects you want to study and the program’s reported award count. Awards measure degree output, not the number of people in the earnings sample.
University of California-Davis awards bachelor's degrees across 53 fields with published four-year earnings, and Azimuth ranks 49 of them nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. The highest-earning program, Computer Engineering, shows a median of $145,422 four years after completion, alongside 119 degrees awarded.
Engineering follows at $114,228 with 14 degrees awarded. Management Science reaches $86,155 and ranks #22 nationally on 596 degrees awarded.
Economics reports $83,248 and an Azimuth national rank of #64 with 559 degrees awarded. Research and Experimental Psychology, the largest program by degrees awarded at 924, shows median earnings of $57,378 and a national rank of #17.
University of California-Davis offers 49 ranked bachelor's programs, with 53 programs reporting earnings data. The largest program, Research and Experimental Psychology, awarded 924 degrees and ranks #17 nationally, with graduates earning a median of $57,378 four years after completion.
Management Science awarded 596 degrees and ranks #22 nationally, with median earnings of $86,155. Economics awarded 559 degrees and ranks #64 nationally, with median earnings of $83,248.
Genetics awarded 108 degrees, ranks #1 nationally, and has median earnings of $77,411. East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics awarded 40 degrees, ranks #3 nationally, and has median earnings of $60,939, the second-ranked program in California for its field.
Do UC Davis graduates earn more than expected?
University of California-Davis reports median earnings of $73,086 four years after completion. The reported value is $10,086 above Azimuth’s statistical expectation for the institution.
The difference compares the reported outcome with a model estimate. It does not compare matched students who attended different colleges, and it does not establish how much the institution caused earnings to change.
Read this measure alongside completion and individual program outcomes. It describes an institution-level result; it does not predict what a particular student will earn.
Read the original article: A value-added approach to college outcomes
- Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
- +$8,653
- Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
- +$1,433
- Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
- +$10,086
These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
Further analysis
Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $53,882, a typical outcome of $73,086, and an upside of $96,806. At the high end, Computer Engineering reaches $145,422, while the largest program, Research and Experimental Psychology, sits at $57,378.
Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, University of California-Davis reports a median of $73,086 four years after graduating. That median lands in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, measured from a cohort of 7,321 completers.
It sits $7,476 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $10,086 more than the model expects for similar students.
That gap sits at the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Estimated earnings scenarios from the program mix range from $53,882 to $96,806, with typical earnings at $73,086.
The program mix points to an estimated 37.9% of graduates continuing to graduate study.
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.
Four-year earnings are measured after completion for the covered federally aided cohort of people working and not enrolled. Measures taken six, eight or ten years after entry use a different starting point and should not be treated as one graduating class followed over time.
Program award counts describe credentials awarded, not current enrollment, unique graduates or earnings-sample size. Reporting periods differ across measures; the shared field definitions do not establish the exact vintage of every school-level value.
College Scorecard data and documentation · Model methodology