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Career outcomes brief

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# Western Carolina University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated September 30, 2026

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

**On this page**+

## How much do Western Carolina University graduates earn?

The reported median is $54,667 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is \-$10,943 per year.

At Western Carolina University, the return picture trails its access and mobility measures. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 26th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $7,916 less than the model expects for similar students. [Earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/)—the gap between graduate earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students—are in the 25th 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 $7,773. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,689.

Median earnings are $54,667 four years after completion; Azimuth puts them in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610, leaving earnings $10,943 below it.

At Western Carolina University, the modeled earnings range makes field-level results especially useful. The downside earnings scenario is $45,193 and the upside scenario is $76,201; both are estimated from the program mix rather than observed graduate groups.

Among programs, median earnings four years after completion are $86,853 in Computer Science, $83,954 in Construction Engineering Technology/Technician, and $82,500 in Engineering. Those field results show why the modeled range is broad.

An estimated 27.5% 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 graduates continuing their education are outside that earnings measure.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$54,667

**Rank for difference from expectations**
25th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**Western Carolina University reported median**
$54,667

**Peer schools comparable schools · $10,943 above Western Carolina University**
$65,610

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $7,916 above Western Carolina University**
$62,583

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 $45,193 to $76,201, around the reported median of $54,667. Compare the lower scenario with [Western Carolina University borrowing and monthly payments](/school/western-carolina-university/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**
$45,193

**Median · reported**
$54,667

**Higher estimate**
$76,201

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 Western Carolina University 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).

Western Carolina University graduates’ reported earnings are $7,916 below that expectation, the 25th 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 Western Carolina University 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.**
+$7,773

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$15,689

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
\-$7,916

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

## Which fields at Western Carolina University report the highest earnings?

The five largest programs at Western Carolina University show a clear split between higher-earning health and technical fields and more moderate-earning business and education programs four years after completion. Nursing is the highest-earning among the largest, with a median of $79,533 across 250 degrees awarded.

[Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) it #215 nationally within its field. Business Administration and Management, the largest program at 273 degrees a year, reports a median of $57,713 and a national rank of #266.

At the more moderate end, Teacher Education records $47,105 across 150 degrees awarded. Azimuth places it #152 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Criminal Justice sits between the two ends, with median earnings of $55,903 and a national rank of #86.

Public Administration gives Western Carolina University its highest nationally ranked field, placing #4 in Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions. It awarded 90 degrees, and its completers had median earnings of $70,331 four years after completion.

[Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) Engineering Technologies/Technicians #11 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions; it awarded 53 degrees and shows median earnings of $78,801 four years after completion. Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy ranks #13 nationally in Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 27 degrees awarded and median earnings of $49,834 four years after completion.

Engineering ranks #14 nationally, awarded 50 degrees, and had median earnings of $82,500 four years after completion. The university has 35 ranked bachelor’s fields, so results vary materially by field.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Computer Science**
$86,853

**Construction Engineering Technology/Technician**
$83,954

**Engineering, General**
$82,500

**Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing**
$79,533

**Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians**
$79,441

**Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General**
$78,801

**Public Administration**
$70,331

**Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions**
$65,010

[Explore Western Carolina University program cohorts and field ranks](/school/western-carolina-university/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Program mix yields earnings scenarios of $45,193 on the downside, $54,667 as typical, and $76,201 on the upside. These are scenarios rather than observed groups.

Computer Science reaches $86,853 four years after completion, whereas Teacher Education, the lowest-earning large program, is at $47,105. The spread shows variation by field.

Western Carolina University has stronger mobility than its earnings figures suggest: federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $54,667 four years after completion. Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 2,644 completers.

Graduates earn about $7,916 less than the model expects for similar students. The typical modeled scenario matches the observed median, and scenarios describe the program mix rather than observed groups.

An estimated 27.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The earnings percentile and below-expected modeled gap point in the same direction, while graduate study is a separate modeled outcome.

## 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/).