Best Schools for Computer Science
Computer Science graduates earn a median of $105,942 within four years of graduating, ranking #15 out of 283 tracked majors — 69% above the median across all fields. There are 369 colleges nationwide with tracked earnings for this major, producing 23,553 recent graduates.
Where you study matters: Carnegie Mellon University graduates earn $268,121 while Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Ponce graduates earn $29,212 — a $238,909 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 moderate: Computer Science graduates see an average 6% increase between year 1 and year 2 post-graduation, reflecting career advancement and skill development in the first years after college.
Public vs Private: Computer Science
Private schools produce $16,027 more in early earnings on average for Computer Science graduates. Factor in tuition difference to calculate which offers better ROI.
Computer Science by State
Also by state: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, Wisconsin
Top Computer Science Schools by Graduate Earnings
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA · Private
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA · Private
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY · Private
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ · Private
Pomona College
Claremont, CA · Private
Stanford University
Stanford, CA · Private
Brown University
Providence, RI · Private
Williams College
Williamstown, MA · Private
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA · Private
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH · Private
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA · Private
Harvey Mudd College
Claremont, CA · Private
Duke University
Durham, NC · Private
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA · Private
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY · Private
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL · Public
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL · Private
Washington University in St Louis
St. Louis, MO · Private
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA · Public
University of Washington-Bothell Campus
Bothell, WA · Public
Colgate University
Hamilton, NY · Private
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN · Private
Emory University
Atlanta, GA · Private
University of California-San Diego
La Jolla, CA · Public
Tufts University
Medford, MA · Private
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY · Private
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL · Private
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA · Public
George Washington University
Washington, DC · Private
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA · Private
University of San Diego
San Diego, CA · Private
University of California-Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA · Public
University of the Pacific
Stockton, CA · Private
Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN · Public
Georgetown University
Washington, DC · Private
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH · Private
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA · Private
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT · Private
Amherst College
Amherst, MA · Private
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA · Private
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY · Private
Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, NJ · Private
University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD · Public
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, ME · Private
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT · Public
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC · Public
Boston University
Boston, MA · Private
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY · Private
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, MA · Private
Showing top 50 of 369 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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