William & Mary Career Outcomes: $80K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do William & Mary graduates earn?

The reported median is $80,445 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is $23,144 per year.

Graduates of William & Mary earn a median of $80,445 four years after completion, which places them at the 89th percentile. That figure is above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions, a gap of $23,144.

The return on investment ranks at the 90th percentile in the Azimuth model. Graduates earn about $2,363 more than expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 64th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,923.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,560. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,091.

The earnings scenarios show a wide spread: the downside scenario is $53,550 and the upside scenario reaches $110,782. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Computer Science graduates earn $127,851 four years after completion, from 93 degrees awarded a year. Business Administration and Management follows at $111,366, and Economics at $105,467.

An estimated 40.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, those continuing their education are outside that earnings snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $80,445
Rank for difference from expectations: 64th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

William & Mary reported median: $80,445
Peer schools comparable schools · $23,144 below William & Mary: $57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $2,363 below William & Mary: $78,082

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 William & Mary students return and finish their degrees?

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

Returned the following fall: 95.3%
Completed within six years: 88.3%
Pell recipients completed within six years: 80.3%

Source: William & Mary Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention; B4–B11 six-year completion. Retention and completion follow different entering cohorts.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $53,550
Median · reported: $80,445
Higher estimate: $110,782

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 William & Mary 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.

William & Mary graduates’ reported earnings are $2,363 above that expectation, the 64th 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 William & Mary caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at William & Mary report the highest earnings?

The highest-earning program at William & Mary is Computer Science, where graduates earn a median of $127,851 four years after completion. The program awards 93 degrees a year.

The largest program, Business Administration and Management, is also the second-highest earner at $111,366 with 239 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks it #13 nationally within its field.

At the more moderate end of the earnings range, Biology graduates earn $49,644 from 161 degrees a year. Psychology is close behind in size at 158 degrees awarded, with median earnings of $59,226 and an Azimuth national rank of #51.

William & Mary has 20 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, and the strongest of them sit in the social sciences. Sociology ranks #2 in its field, with 34 degrees awarded and median earnings of $87,655 four years after completion.

International Relations and National Security Studies ranks #4 nationally, with 76 degrees awarded and median earnings of $91,065. The largest program is Business Administration and Management, at 239 degrees a year, a national rank of #13, and median earnings of $111,366.

The highest-earning program is Computer Science, with 93 degrees awarded, a national rank of #59, and median earnings of $127,851. The best-paid fields are not the biggest ones.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a downside of $53,550, a typical outcome of $80,445, and an upside of $110,782. The spread reflects variation by field: Computer Science reaches $127,851 four years after completion, while among the largest programs, Biology sits at $49,644.

Graduates of William & Mary who received federal aid and are working four years after completion earn a median of $80,445. That amount is $23,144 above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The sample includes 1,157 completers. That median sits in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The same graduates earn about $2,363 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth ranks the university #154 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That margin falls in the 64th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $53,550 on the downside to $110,782 on the upside, with $80,445 as the typical outcome.

An estimated 40.0% 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.