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.
University of San Diego graduates demonstrate consistent earnings growth over the post-graduation period. Median earnings increase from $64,995 six years after enrollment to $77,744 at eight years and $86,522 at ten years, representing 33.1% growth between the six-year and ten-year measurement points.
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 $22,940 is well under annual earnings, enabling comfortable repayment.
University of San Diego graduates carry median debt of $22,940, which falls $1,241 below the peer median of $24,181, indicating controlled borrowing relative to similar institutions. Debt ranges from $11,250 at the 25th percentile to $27,000 at the 75th percentile, showing meaningful variation in how students finance their education.
University of San Diego ranks at the 94.6th percentile for return on investment, demonstrating excellent performance in translating educational costs into long-term economic value. Graduates earn $12,635 beyond expectations relative to students with similar backgrounds at comparable institutions, placing the university in the 88.7th percentile for value-added performance.
Approximately 20.9% of University of San Diego graduates continue to graduate or professional school, based on program mix analysis with high confiden...
Program mix explains much of the earnings story.
University of San Diego's strongest earnings outcomes concentrate in business, finance, and technical fields. Computer Science leads with graduates earning $104,948, followed by Real Estate at $93,940 and Mechanical Engineering at $88,885.
Banking and Financial Support Services produces 231 graduates earning $88,295, representing both scale and strong outcomes. Accounting graduates earn $88,651 with solid cohort sizes of 93 students.
See which programs drive the strongest earnings and career trajectories
Earnings distribution at University of San Diego spans from $56,511 at the 25th percentile to $125,761 at the 75th percentile, creating a 2.2:1 ratio that reflects meaningful variation in post-graduation outcomes. Low-income graduates earn $76,200, demonstrating that students from lower-income backgrounds achieve strong earnings that support economic mobility.