UNC Career Outcomes: $81K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do UNC graduates earn?

The reported median is $81,033 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $15,423 per year.

Azimuth places the university at the 93rd percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $81,033, at the 89th percentile.

That is $15,423 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $7,513 more than expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 78th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,309.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,796. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,950.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a wide range, from $56,962 on the downside to $121,472 on the upside, with $81,033 as the typical scenario. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

The spread across program clusters is substantial. Computer Science graduates earn a median of $137,047 four years after completion, while Business Administration and Management graduates earn $135,874. Applied Mathematics, a smaller program, reports $119,839.

Azimuth estimates that 34.7% of completers continue to graduate study, a share derived from the program mix. Because the four-year earnings metric covers only those working and not enrolled, that share sits outside the earnings snapshot.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $56,962
Median · reported: $81,033
Higher estimate: $121,472

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 UNC 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.

UNC graduates’ reported earnings are $7,513 above that expectation, the 78th 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 UNC caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at UNC report the highest earnings?

The university's highest-earning bachelor's programs reach well into six figures four years after completion. Computer Science tops the list at $137,047 with 432 degrees awarded, and Business Administration and Management follows at $135,874 on 332 degrees awarded, holding an Azimuth national rank of #5 in its field.

Large programs in the social sciences and life sciences land in a more moderate band. Communication and Media Studies, the biggest program by degrees awarded at 560, reports median earnings of $70,240 and a national field rank of #16.

Biology awards 558 degrees and shows median earnings of $62,047, while Economics reaches $103,846 alongside 449 degrees awarded and a national rank of #38.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reports earnings data for 37 bachelor's fields, and 34 hold an Azimuth national rank. The highest-earning program is Computer Science, where graduates earn a median of $137,047 four years after completion on 432 degrees awarded, and the field ranks #32 nationally.

Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution holds a national rank of #1 and is the top-ranked program in North Carolina at #1. Its median earnings are $80,344 on 102 degrees awarded.

The largest program, Communication and Media Studies, awarded 560 degrees and shows median earnings of $70,240 alongside a national rank of #16. Economics, with 449 degrees awarded, posts median earnings of $103,846 and a national rank of #38.

Further analysis

Earnings vary sharply by field, a pattern captured in earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix. The downside earnings scenario sits at $56,962, the typical scenario at $81,033, and the upside scenario at $121,472.

Among the largest programs with published earnings, Computer Science reaches $137,047 while Biology lands at $62,047.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill completers earn a median of $81,033 four years after finishing; Azimuth places that figure in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. This median reflects a cohort of 5,713 federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled.

Relative to comparable institutions (same type and size), the university's median is above the peer median of $65,610 by $15,423. Earnings scenarios tied to the university's program mix span from $56,962 on the downside to $121,472 on the upside, with a typical outcome of $81,033.

The same completers earn about $7,513 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 78th percentile. Based on program mix, an estimated 34.7% of graduates continue to graduate study rather than entering the workforce immediately.

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.