Best Schools for Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering graduates earn a median of $92,353 within four years of graduating, ranking #22 out of 283 tracked majors — 48% above the median across all fields. There are 320 colleges nationwide with tracked earnings for this major, producing 39,638 recent graduates.
Where you study matters: Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates earn $131,967 while Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon graduates earn $63,291 — a $68,676 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: Mechanical Engineering graduates see an average 0% increase between year 1 and year 2 post-graduation, reflecting career advancement and skill development in the first years after college.
Public vs Private: Mechanical Engineering
Private schools produce $3,338 more in early earnings on average for Mechanical Engineering graduates. Factor in tuition difference to calculate which offers better ROI.
Mechanical Engineering by State
Also by state: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Top Mechanical Engineering Schools by Graduate Earnings
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA · Private
California State University Maritime Academy
Vallejo, CA · Public
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA · Private
Duke University
Durham, NC · Private
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public
Stanford University
Stanford, CA · Private
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ · Private
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA · Private
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY · Private
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY · Private
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD · Private
Rice University
Houston, TX · Private
University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Public
SUNY Maritime College
Throggs Neck, NY · Public
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA · Public
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI · Public
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA · Private
California Baptist University
Riverside, CA · Private
University of Detroit Mercy
Detroit, MI · Private
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA · Private
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX · Public
University of California-Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA · Public
University of California-San Diego
La Jolla, CA · Public
Northeastern University
Boston, MA · Private
Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology
Flushing, NY · Private
Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN · Public
University of California-Davis
Davis, CA · Public
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA · Public
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA · Public
University of Washington-Bothell Campus
Bothell, WA · Public
University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
Tacoma, WA · Public
Lafayette College
Easton, PA · Private
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN · Private
George Washington University
Washington, DC · Private
Tufts University
Medford, MA · Private
Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, NJ · Private
Lawrence Technological University
Southfield, MI · Private
University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD · Public
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Baton Rouge, LA · Public
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
Atlanta, GA · Public
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA · Private
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN · Private
University of the Pacific
Stockton, CA · Private
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, MO · Private
Kettering University
Flint, MI · Private
California State University-Northridge
Northridge, CA · Public
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
Pomona, CA · Public
University of California-Irvine
Irvine, CA · Public
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL · Private
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Socorro, NM · Public
Showing top 50 of 320 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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