Best Schools for Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering graduates earn a median of $97,276 within four years of graduating, ranking #18 out of 283 tracked majors — 56% above the median across all fields. There are 163 colleges nationwide with tracked earnings for this major, producing 11,315 recent graduates.
Where you study matters: Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates earn $122,093 while University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez graduates earn $74,254 — a $47,839 difference. Factors like location, employer networks, co-op programs, and curriculum focus drive this gap. Across all fields, though, which major you pick separates earnings more than which college does.
Early career salary growth is modest: Chemical Engineering graduates see an average 2% increase between year 1 and year 2 post-graduation, reflecting career advancement and skill development in the first years after college.
Public vs Private: Chemical Engineering
Private schools produce $4,217 more in early earnings on average for Chemical Engineering graduates. Factor in tuition difference to calculate which offers better ROI.
Chemical Engineering by State
Also by state: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Top Chemical Engineering Schools by Graduate Earnings
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA · Private
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN · Private
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY · Private
Lafayette College
Easton, PA · Private
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX · Public
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Baton Rouge, LA · Public
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN · Private
Rice University
Houston, TX · Private
University of California-Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA · Public
Texas A&M University-College Station
College Station, TX · Public
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL · Private
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA · Private
University of Houston
Houston, TX · Public
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA · Private
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL · Public
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA · Public
North Carolina A & T State University
Greensboro, NC · Public
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI · Public
University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Public
Washington University in St Louis
St. Louis, MO · Private
Northeastern University
Boston, MA · Private
University of Mississippi
University, MS · Public
Auburn University
Auburn, AL · Public
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA · Public
University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA · Public
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC · Public
Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN · Public
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL · Public
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
Atlanta, GA · Public
University of Delaware
Newark, DE · Public
Kettering University
Flint, MI · Private
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
University Park, PA · Public
Villanova University
Villanova, PA · Private
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, RI · Public
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
Pomona, CA · Public
University of California-Davis
Davis, CA · Public
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI · Public
University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD · Public
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Lafayette, LA · Public
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ · Public
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT · Private
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA · Private
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI · Public
University of Tulsa
Tulsa, OK · Private
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY · Public
Lamar University
Beaumont, TX · Public
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL · Public
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
New Brunswick, NJ · Public
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA · Private
Showing top 50 of 163 schools. View all or filter by state above.
Majors with Similar Earnings
Frequently Asked Questions
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Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median 2 years after graduation for bachelor's degree holders, from the field-of-study file last updated June 2026. Institution-level figures elsewhere on the site come from the June 2026 release — Scorecard publishes the two separately.
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