Yale University Outcomes: $113K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do Yale University graduates earn?

The reported median is $112,971 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $44,721 per year.

Azimuth places Yale University in the 99th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $18,580 more than expects for similar students, a level in the 94th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,246. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $12,334.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,376. Four years after completion, the median earnings of the university's federally aided completers working and not enrolled reach $112,971, in the 98th percentile.

That figure runs above the peer median of $68,250 by $44,721 among comparable institutions (same type and size).

The downside earnings scenario for Yale University graduates sits at $55,812 four years after completion, while the upside scenario reaches $151,400. The typical earnings scenario, anchored on the university's program mix, is $112,971.

Among the largest programs, Economics shows median earnings of $142,936, and Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn a median of $188,157.

An estimated 41.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the university's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings figures capture only those working and not enrolled, the median earnings understate the eventual earnings of the sizable share of completers who pursue advanced degrees.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $112,971
Rank for difference from expectations: 94th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Yale University reported median: $112,971
Peer schools comparable schools · $44,721 below Yale University: $68,250
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $18,580 below Yale University: $94,391

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 could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $55,812
Median · reported: $112,971
Higher estimate: $151,400

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 Yale 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.

Yale University graduates’ reported earnings are $18,580 above that expectation, the 94th 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 Yale University caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Yale University report the highest earnings?

The largest programs at Yale University show a wide earnings spread four years after completion, from $90,764 in Political Science to $188,157 in Computer and Information Sciences. Economics awards the most degrees, at 204 a year, and its graduates earn a median of $142,936.

Azimuth ranks the program #8 nationally in its field. Computer and Information Sciences awarded 121 degrees and has a median of $188,157.

Azimuth ranks it #3 in its field. History, a more moderate-earning field, awards 94 degrees and its graduates earn $109,947, with a national rank of #2.

Yale University has 6 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, and the top-ranked ones are not always the largest. History is the highest-ranked, at #2 in its field, with 94 degrees awarded and median earnings of $109,947 four years after completion.

The largest program is Economics, awarding 204 degrees a year. Azimuth ranks it #8 nationally, and its completers earn a median of $142,936.

Computer and Information Sciences is the highest-earning program among the largest five, at $188,157. It awards 121 degrees and Azimuth ranks it #3 in its field.

Political Science and History are also among the five largest programs, with earnings that range from $90,764 to $109,947.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $55,812, a typical outcome of $112,971, and an upside of $151,400. The spread reflects the range of fields at the university: Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn a median of $188,157 four years after completion, while Political Science, one of the largest programs, sits at $90,764.

The median earnings of Yale University graduates four years after completion stand at $112,971, drawn from a cohort of 939 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That figure places the university in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $18,580 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that ranks in the 94th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix point to a typical outcome of $112,971, with a downside scenario of $55,812 and an upside scenario reaching $151,400.

An estimated 41.0% of the university's graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the institution's program mix rather than observed enrollment.

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.