Best Value / By Major

Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians

Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.

50

Schools Ranked

$57,780

Avg. Earnings

<1 yr

Best Payback

3,115

Graduates

How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.

#	School	Net Price/yr	Major Earnings	Payback
1	Brigham Young University-Idaho Rexburg, ID · Private	$5,422	$63,005	<1 yr
2	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN · Public	$8,450	$59,756	1.4 yrs
3	Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI · Public	$13,230	$69,535	1.5 yrs
4	Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH · Public	$13,754	$70,176	1.6 yrs
5	Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI · Public	$11,794	$65,170	1.6 yrs
6	Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI · Public	$14,547	$69,338	1.7 yrs
7	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI · Public	$15,720	$68,499	1.9 yrs
8	Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Public	$13,306	$63,005	1.9 yrs
9	Purdue University Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, IN · Public	$13,015	$62,508	1.9 yrs
10	Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI · Private	$18,854	$74,200	1.9 yrs
11	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO · Public	$14,679	$61,516	2.2 yrs
12	Farmingdale State College Farmingdale, NY · Public	$10,914	$54,463	2.2 yrs
13	Purdue University Northwest Hammond, IN · Public	$12,829	$58,221	2.2 yrs
14	California State University Maritime Academy Vallejo, CA · Public	$18,885	$66,171	2.4 yrs
15	Indiana State University Terre Haute, IN · Public	$15,588	$61,350	2.4 yrs
16	SUNY Polytechnic Institute Utica, NY · Public	$15,239	$59,711	2.5 yrs
17	Fairmont State University Fairmont, WV · Public	$12,104	$54,153	2.5 yrs
18	Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT · Public	$16,857	$61,303	2.6 yrs
19	Oregon Institute of Technology Klamath Falls, OR · Public	$16,695	$60,839	2.6 yrs
20	University of Toledo Toledo, OH · Public	$17,555	$62,211	2.6 yrs
21	Point Park University Pittsburgh, PA · Private	$20,671	$67,101	2.6 yrs
22	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	$14,132	$55,964	2.7 yrs
23	University of Maine Orono, ME · Public	$14,886	$55,964	2.8 yrs
24	Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN · Public	$14,995	$56,544	2.8 yrs
25	University of Houston Houston, TX · Public	$13,382	$53,671	2.9 yrs
26	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL · Public	$14,499	$55,211	2.9 yrs
27	Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA · Public	$12,224	$52,107	2.9 yrs
28	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK · Public	$14,127	$54,435	2.9 yrs
29	SUNY Buffalo State University Buffalo, NY · Public	$17,154	$58,522	2.9 yrs
30	Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI · Public	$16,017	$56,415	3 yrs
31	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	$15,561	$55,512	3 yrs
32	Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA · Public	$17,235	$56,979	3.1 yrs
33	LeTourneau University Longview, TX · Private	$23,593	$65,332	3.1 yrs
34	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA · Public	$19,365	$59,756	3.1 yrs
35	University of Dayton Dayton, OH · Private	$25,633	$67,660	3.1 yrs
36	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC · Public	$16,938	$56,716	3.1 yrs
37	Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH · Public	$18,468	$58,673	3.1 yrs
38	University of Akron Main Campus Akron, OH · Public	$18,860	$58,673	3.2 yrs
39	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus University Park, PA · Public	$19,223	$58,866	3.2 yrs
40	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred Alfred, NY · Public	$18,893	$56,302	3.5 yrs
41	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Johnstown, PA · Public	$17,271	$54,585	3.5 yrs
42	Montana State University Bozeman, MT · Public	$19,942	$57,318	3.6 yrs
43	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College Erie, PA · Public	$21,255	$58,866	3.6 yrs
44	Pittsburg State University Pittsburg, KS · Public	$14,800	$51,273	3.6 yrs
45	Art Center College of Design Pasadena, CA · Private	$42,992	$81,702	3.7 yrs
46	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus Teaneck, NJ · Private	$15,022	$51,273	3.7 yrs
47	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY · Private	$31,935	$67,587	3.9 yrs
48	Tarleton State University Stephenville, TX · Public	$21,117	$56,776	3.9 yrs
49	Tennessee State University Nashville, TN · Public	$12,563	$47,260	4.1 yrs
50	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA · Public	$16,819	$50,465	4.4 yrs

Top Earners in Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians

See schools ranked by earnings alone, without considering cost.

Best Value Rankings

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Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.