University of Massachusetts-Amherst Earnings: $79K (2026)

How much do University of Massachusetts-Amherst graduates earn?

The reported median is $78,620 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $13,010 per year.

The return at University of Massachusetts-Amherst sits in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, completers earn a median of $78,620, which is above the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $13,010.

Graduates earn about $6,479 more than expects for similar students, a result in the 75th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,973.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $2,494. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,050.

The earnings scenarios, grounded in the program mix, range from a downside of $52,440 to an upside of $103,912. The spread reflects the variation by field: the highest-earning program among the largest, Computer Science, shows a median of $123,519, while the lowest-earning, Psychology, shows $51,274.

Earnings scenarios show a wide range: from $52,440 on the downside to $103,912 on the upside. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the higher end, Computer Science graduates earn a median of $123,519 four years after completion, from 391 degrees awarded. Computer Engineering follows at $113,083, and Electrical Engineering at $101,091.

The upside scenario and the top program medians are well above the downside scenario.

An estimated 33.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the university's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because the four-year earnings snapshot counts only those working and not enrolled, a sizable portion of completers are likely building additional credentials outside the earnings data.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $78,620
Rank for difference from expectations: 75th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

University of Massachusetts-Amherst reported median: $78,620
Peer schools comparable schools · $13,010 below University of Massachusetts-Amherst: $65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $6,479 below University of Massachusetts-Amherst: $72,141

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 many University of Massachusetts-Amherst first-year students return?

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

Returned the following fall: 92.3%

Source: University of Massachusetts-Amherst Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $52,440
Median · reported: $78,620
Higher estimate: $103,912

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 Massachusetts-Amherst 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 Massachusetts-Amherst graduates’ reported earnings are $6,479 above that expectation, the 75th 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 Massachusetts-Amherst caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at University of Massachusetts-Amherst report the highest earnings?

The University of Massachusetts-Amherst publishes four-year earnings for 45 bachelor's programs, and Azimuth ranks 40 of them nationally. Psychology, the most-awarded degree at 547 degrees, reports a median of $51,274 and an Azimuth national rank of #134.

Economics reaches $80,434 and ranks #89 nationally on 353 degrees awarded. Biology, with 317 degrees awarded, earns $72,726 and holds an Azimuth national rank of #28.

University of Massachusetts-Amherst publishes earnings data for 45 bachelor's programs, and 40 of them hold an Azimuth national rank. The largest, Psychology, awarded 547 degrees and shows a median of $51,274 four years after completion.

Computer Science awarded 391 degrees and is the highest-earning large program, with a median of $123,519. Several programs carry a top national rank.

Agriculture/Veterinary Preparatory Programs ranks #1 in its field, awarded 82 degrees, and reports a median of $57,461. Architectural Sciences and Technology holds a national rank of #2 in its field, with 94 degrees awarded and a median of $93,156.

Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences rounds out the top-ranked programs in its field at #5 nationally, with 175 degrees awarded and a median of $74,422.

Further analysis

Earnings at University of Massachusetts-Amherst shift considerably depending on field, a pattern captured in earnings scenarios built from the university's program mix. The downside scenario, reflecting lower-earning program clusters, lands at $52,440, while the typical scenario is $78,620 and the upside scenario reaches $103,912.

Anchoring the range in named programs, Computer Science graduates earn a median of $123,519 four years after completion, while Psychology, the largest program, sits at $51,274.

University of Massachusetts-Amherst graduates earn a median of $78,620 four years after completing a degree. That figure is drawn from an earnings cohort of 5,464 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

The median is $13,010 above the $65,610 typical for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks that earnings figure in the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $6,479 more than the model expects for similar students. This measures the gap between actual pay and the model's expected level for similar students.

That result sits at the 75th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The program mix points to earnings scenarios of $78,620 in a typical case, $52,440 on the downside and $103,912 on the upside.

An estimated 33.8% 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.