Federal data
Highest earning civil engineering programs in the United States
U.S. civil engineering programs, ranked by median earnings one year after completion, from the College Scorecard field-of-study file (September 18, 2026). Only programs with at least 30 counted graduates in the earnings sample are shown, and at least 5 programs must qualify for this list to exist.
| Rank | School | City | Sector | Median earnings, 1 year after | Graduates counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo | Public, 4-year | $80,673 | 141 |
| 2 | Cornell University | Ithaca | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $80,261 | 32 |
| 3 | University of California-Berkeley | Berkeley | Public, 4-year | $78,142 | 52 |
| 4 | University of Maryland-College Park | College Park | Public, 4-year | $76,731 | 99 |
| 5 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $76,419 | 54 |
| 6 | Northeastern University | Boston | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $76,362 | 95 |
| 7 | George Mason University | Fairfax | Public, 4-year | $75,822 | 94 |
| 8 | Texas A&M University-College Station | College Station | Public, 4-year | $75,793 | 214 |
| 9 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | Pomona | Public, 4-year | $75,758 | 273 |
| 10 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | Atlanta | Public, 4-year | $75,688 | 100 |
| 11 | University of California-Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public, 4-year | $75,510 | 44 |
| 12 | Manhattan University | Riverdale | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $75,290 | 128 |
| 13 | University of California-Davis | Davis | Public, 4-year | $75,165 | 132 |
| 14 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin | Public, 4-year | $75,153 | 126 |
| 15 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | Boston | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $75,001 | 78 |
| 16 | Washington State University | Pullman | Public, 4-year | $74,841 | 105 |
| 17 | University of Houston | Houston | Public, 4-year | $74,822 | 74 |
| 18 | Syracuse University | Syracuse | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $74,748 | 60 |
| 19 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock | Public, 4-year | $74,655 | 120 |
| 20 | University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $74,499 | 43 |
| 21 | Purdue University-Main Campus | West Lafayette | Public, 4-year | $74,369 | 112 |
| 22 | Gonzaga University | Spokane | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $74,355 | 54 |
| 23 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Blacksburg | Public, 4-year | $74,285 | 190 |
| 24 | Stevens Institute of Technology | Hoboken | Private nonprofit, 4-year | $74,011 | 57 |
| 25 | University of California-Irvine | Irvine | Public, 4-year | $73,835 | 114 |
Earnings cover federally aided graduates only, as published by College Scorecard.
How to read this. A smaller program can show a high or low figure from just a few graduates, and this earnings figure only ever covers students who received federal aid, so it does not describe every graduate.
Keep going