1.  [College research](/)
2.  /
3.  [Vassar College](/school/vassar-college/)
4.  /
5.  Career outcomes brief

Career outcomes brief

Copy linkPrint brief

# Vassar College Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/vassar-college/)[Cost & aid](/school/vassar-college/cost/)Outcomes[Admissions](/school/vassar-college/admissions/)[Majors](/school/vassar-college/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/vassar-college/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much do Vassar College graduates earn?

The reported median is $61,818 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is \-$6,432 per year.

Access is Vassar College’s strongest pillar. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 34th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $16,698 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth puts [earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 7th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,199. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $18,897.

Median earnings are $61,818 four years after completion, in the 56th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, and Vassar College sits $6,432 below it. Both comparisons place earnings below their reference points.

At Vassar College, field choice comes with a broad modeled earnings range. The typical earnings scenario is $61,818, with scenarios from $46,018 on the downside to $92,340 on the upside; these are modeled from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

Four years after completion, median earnings are $124,469 in Computer and Information Sciences, $102,584 in Economics, and $45,359 in Biology. These program medians illustrate the variation across fields without defining the modeled scenario endpoints.

Graduate study changes how the earnings figure should be read. An estimated 40.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, so people continuing their education are outside that snapshot.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$61,818

**Rank for difference from expectations**
7th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**Vassar College reported median**
$61,818

**Peer schools comparable schools · $6,432 above Vassar College**
$68,250

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $16,698 above Vassar College**
$78,516

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](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

## How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $46,018 to $92,340, around the reported median of $61,818. Compare the lower scenario with [Vassar College borrowing and monthly payments](/school/vassar-college/cost/) to see how a smaller income could change your plan.

Modeled from the school’s program mix; not salary percentiles or a forecast for one graduate.

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

**Lower estimate**
$46,018

**Median · reported**
$61,818

**Higher estimate**
$92,340

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](/analysis/median-roi-hides-a-harsh-reality/) explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. [Read about the move to four-year earnings](/analysis/college-scorecard-2026-4-year-vs-10-year-earnings-2-2/).

## Do Vassar College 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](/methodology/#value-added).

Vassar College graduates’ reported earnings are $16,698 below that expectation, the 7th 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 Vassar College caused a student to earn. [Read how expected earnings are estimated](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

What explains value-added earnings?

**Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.**
+$2,199

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$18,897

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
\-$16,698

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

## Which fields at Vassar College report the highest earnings?

Vassar College shows a broad spread in program earnings four years after completion, separating its highest-earning fields from more moderate outcomes in other large programs. Computer and Information Sciences had median earnings of $124,469 and 41 degrees awarded, while Economics recorded $102,584 with 56 degrees awarded.

Political Science posted median earnings of $69,942 across 46 degrees awarded. Research and Experimental Psychology was closer to the moderate end, with $65,095 in median earnings and 53 degrees awarded.

The contrast between these fields means the school-level earnings picture can vary substantially with program choice.

Program earnings differ widely across Vassar College’s largest fields, making field choice particularly important. Economics awarded 56 degrees and had median earnings of $102,584 four years after completion.

Research and Experimental Psychology awarded 53 degrees and had median earnings of $65,095 four years after completion. Political Science awarded 46 degrees and had median earnings of $69,942 four years after completion.

Biology awarded 41 degrees and had median earnings of $45,359. Computer and Information Sciences awarded 41 degrees and had median earnings of $124,469 four years after completion. The large fields point to markedly different early-career earnings.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Computer and Information Sciences, General**
$124,469

**Economics**
$102,584

**Political Science and Government**
$69,942

**Research and Experimental Psychology**
$65,095

**International Relations and National Security Studies**
$63,591

**Fine and Studio Arts**
$63,418

**Sociology**
$61,106

**English Language and Literature, General**
$60,461

[Explore Vassar College program cohorts and field ranks](/school/vassar-college/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Field choice shapes the modeled range grounded in the program mix: the downside earnings scenario is $46,018, the typical scenario is $61,818, and the upside scenario is $92,340 four years after completion. Computer and Information Sciences reaches $124,469, whereas Biology, the lowest-earning large program, is at $45,359, illustrating the variation by field.

Vassar College graduates post a middle-of-the-pack earnings figure, with a median of $61,818 four years after completion among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that median in the 56th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 503 completers.

[Earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, provide a less favorable second benchmark. Graduates earn about $16,698 less than the model expects for similar students.

The program-mix model sets a typical earnings scenario at $61,818, with a downside scenario of $46,018 and an upside scenario of $92,340. An estimated 40.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The middle-range median sits alongside a broad modeled range and earnings below the model’s expectation.

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), 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](/about/).