University of Dayton Outcomes: $79K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do University of Dayton graduates earn?

The reported median is $78,870 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $10,620 per year.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $78,870, in the 87th percentile. That is $10,620 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the return in the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $5,688 less than expects for similar students.

That puts the gap at the 34th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds $9,371. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,059.

The spread between the downside scenario of $52,887 and the upside scenario of $97,196 shows the variation in earnings across the 32 programs with published data four years after completion. The highest-earning programs include Computer Engineering, where completers earn a median of $116,356, Management Information Systems and Services at $107,354, and Computer Science at $102,468.

An estimated 26.2% 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.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $78,870
Rank for difference from expectations: 34th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

University of Dayton reported median: $78,870
Peer schools comparable schools · $10,620 below University of Dayton: $68,250
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $5,688 above University of Dayton: $84,558

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.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $52,887
Median · reported: $78,870
Higher estimate: $97,196

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 University of Dayton 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.

University of Dayton graduates’ reported earnings are $5,688 below that expectation, the 34th 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 University of Dayton caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at University of Dayton report the highest earnings?

The University of Dayton awards bachelor's degrees across 32 fields with published four-year earnings, and the spread between the highest- and lowest-earning programs is wide. Computer Engineering leads at $116,356, with 22 degrees awarded.

Management Information Systems and Services follows at $107,354 (46 degrees awarded), and Computer Science reaches $102,468 (37 degrees awarded). Among the university's largest programs, earnings vary by field.

Finance, the second-largest program with 186 degrees awarded, shows a median of $95,925. Communication and Media Studies reaches $67,231 on 141 degrees awarded.

The contrast between technical fields and communication-oriented programs is clear, and the gap between the top and bottom of the largest programs is substantial.

The university publishes earnings data for 32 bachelor's programs. The largest, Mechanical Engineering, awarded 214 degrees and shows a median of $88,339 four years after completion.

Finance follows with 186 degrees awarded and a median of $95,925, while Marketing awarded 168 degrees and reports a median of $80,677. The programs with the highest published medians are Computer Engineering at $116,356, Management Information Systems and Services at $107,354, and Computer Science at $102,468.

Computer Engineering awarded 22 degrees, while Management Information Systems and Services and Computer Science awarded 46 and 37 degrees, respectively.

Further analysis

Earnings at the University of Dayton depend heavily on field, a spread captured by three earnings scenarios built from the university's program mix. The downside earnings scenario sits at $52,887, the typical scenario at $78,870, and the upside scenario reaches $97,196.

Anchoring that range in named programs, Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $116,356 four years after completion, while Teacher Education graduates earn $47,775.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of University of Dayton who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $78,870. That figure, drawn from a cohort of 1,908 completers, sits in the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $5,688 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations places the university at the 34th percentile.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a downside scenario of $52,887 and an upside scenario of $97,196. An estimated 26.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

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.