As of the 2023/24 academic year, graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had a starting salary of 110,200 U.S. dollars, and a mid-career salary of 196,900 U.S. dollars. Top universities in the United States One of the top universities in the United States, Harvey Mudd College, is located in Claremont, California. Not only do graduates earn a high salaries after graduation, they also pay the most. In the academic year of 2020-2021, Harvey Mudd College was one of the most expensive school by total annual cost. The best university in the United States in 2021 belonged to the University of California, Berkeley. The Ivy League The Ivy League is a group of eight private universities in the Northeastern United States. It is not only a collegiate athletic conference, but also a group of highly respected academic institutions. They are usually regarded as the best eight universities in the United States and the world. They are extremely selective with their admissions process. However, these universities are extremely expensive to attend. Despite the high price tag, students who graduate from Princeton University have the highest early career salary out of all Ivy League attendees in 2021. This is compared to the overall expected starting salaries of recent college graduates across the United States, which was less than 35,000 U.S. dollars.

In 2022, Darden School of Business in Charlottesville, Virginia was ranked as the 14th best business school in the United States, with an average student debt of 114,043 U.S. dollars and average starting salary and sign-on bonus of 186,974 U.S. dollars for MBA graduates. The number one ranked business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, had a average MBA grad starting salary of 186,279 U.S. dollars but did not report student debt figures for 2022. Only 11 out of the 25 top ranked business schools in the U.S. reported their average student debt in that year.

Graph and download economic data for Income Before Taxes: Wages and Salaries by Highest Education: Less Than College Graduate: High School Graduate (CXU900000LB1404M) from 2012 to 2023 about no college, secondary schooling, secondary, salaries, tax, education, wages, income, and USA.

In 2024, graduates of Princeton University and Harvard University had an average early career salary of 95,600 U.S. dollars, which was the highest early career salary of any Ivy League university. In comparison, graduates of Brown University had an average early career salary of 88,000 U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over (LEU0252917000Q) from Q1 2000 to Q1 2025 about no college, secondary schooling, secondary, full-time, 25 years +, salaries, workers, education, wages, employment, and USA.

Analysis of ‘Where it Pays to Attend College’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://www.kaggle.com/wsj/college-salaries on 20 November 2021.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

Salary Increase By Type of College

Party school? Liberal Arts college? State School? You already know your starting salary will be different depending on what type of school you attend. But, increased earning power shows less disparity. Ten years out, graduates of Ivy League schools earned 99% more than they did at graduation. Party school graduates saw an 85% increase. Engineering school graduates fared worst, earning 76% more 10 years out of school. See where your school ranks.

Salaries By Region

Attending college in the Midwest leads to the lowest salary both at graduation and at mid-career, according to the PayScale Inc. survey. Graduates of schools in the Northeast and California fared best.

Salary Increase By Major

Your parents might have worried when you chose Philosophy or International Relations as a major. But a year-long survey of 1.2 million people with only a bachelor's degree by PayScale Inc. shows that graduates in these subjects earned 103.5% and 97.8% more, respectively, about 10 years post-commencement. Majors that didn't show as much salary growth include Nursing and Information Technology.

All data was obtained from the Wall Street Journal based on data from Payscale, Inc:

• Salaries for Colleges by Type
• Salaries for Colleges by Region
• Degrees that Pay you Back

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

German law graduates holding a doctorate degree can currently expect the ******* average gross starting salary in the country when they enter the job market. Other degrees with good earning prospects include medicine, computer science (also with a doctorate degree), and industrial engineering. In comparison, those who studied graphics/design, humanities and social sciences are at the ****** of the starting salary food chain. Law courses among most attended Law, economics and social sciences were the subject groups seeing the ******* student numbers in German universities, totaling over *** million in 2023/2024. Engineering and mathematics rounded up the top three. German universities offer a variety of internationally recognized degrees, the Bachelor being the most frequently taken type of final exam. Slow yearly salary increase Among selected countries in the European Union, Germany ranks ***** in terms of average annual wages. All the same, when studying the change in average annual pay specifically in Germany during the last decade, a slow, but steady increase is visible year after year, until the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit in 2020. Since then, the average wage has been decreasing and in 2023 was around the same level as in 2017.

Consumer Expenditures - Income Before Taxes: Wages and Salaries by Highest Education: College Graduate: Master's, Professional, Doctoral Degree was 142820.00000 U.S. $ in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Consumer Expenditures - Income Before Taxes: Wages and Salaries by Highest Education: College Graduate: Master's, Professional, Doctoral Degree reached a record high of 142820.00000 in January of 2023 and a record low of 96790.00000 in January of 2013. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Consumer Expenditures - Income Before Taxes: Wages and Salaries by Highest Education: College Graduate: Master's, Professional, Doctoral Degree - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Explore the progression of average salaries for graduates in High School And Junior College from 2020 to 2023 through this detailed chart. It compares these figures against the national average for all graduates, offering a comprehensive look at the earning potential of High School And Junior College relative to other fields. This data is essential for students assessing the return on investment of their education in High School And Junior College, providing a clear picture of financial prospects post-graduation.

Explore the progression of average salaries for graduates in High School (Also Completed Intensive English At City College San Francisco) from 2020 to 2023 through this detailed chart. It compares these figures against the national average for all graduates, offering a comprehensive look at the earning potential of High School (Also Completed Intensive English At City College San Francisco) relative to other fields. This data is essential for students assessing the return on investment of their education in High School (Also Completed Intensive English At City College San Francisco), providing a clear picture of financial prospects post-graduation.

The top-ranked university in the United States in 2024 according to Forbes was Princeton University in New Jersey. Students at Princeton graduate with an average debt of 7,559 U.S. dollars, but have a median 10-year salary of 189,400 U.S. dollars. The Forbes rankings are based on several categories, including alumni salary, student debt, graduation rate, return on investment, retention rate, and academic success.

In 2024, a record high of around ***** million students graduated from undergraduate programs at public colleges and universities in China. That number was more than double as high as the number of degrees earned at all levels of higher education in the United States. The vast number of graduates from Chinese universities originates from the increasing enrollment in colleges and universities across the country. Of the ***** million Chinese graduates of 2023, around **** million earned a bachelor's degree, whereas **** million earned a more practically oriented short-cycle degree. On a graduate and postgraduate level, around *** million master's and doctor's degree students graduated from public colleges and universities in China in 2023. What are the popular majors? In recent years, the most favored majors among Chinese bachelor students were *********************************************, while short-cycle degree students chose majors such as *****************************************************************. Meanwhile, ****************************************************************************************************** were among the least desirable subjects. However, even the popular, highly competitive fields of study do not always guarantee quick and successful employment after graduation. What are the labor market prospects for graduates? The graduate employment rate within half a year after graduation has been generally stable in China over the past seven years, exceeding ** percent on average. Those that struggle to find a job are usually graduates from less technical, quantitative majors who often lack both practical “hard skills” and “soft skills” such as communication, critical thinking, and managerial abilities. ********************************************** top employment rates as well as secure higher-starting salaries. The average monthly salary of a university graduate in China has increased by around ** percent in the last ten years. However, high rent and costs of living in cities like Beijing or Shanghai often force young graduates to return to their hometowns or to seek employment in the second and third tier cities.

The Average Salary chart presents a clear visualization of the salary progression for graduates from Top of the Line Barber College from 2020 to 2023, illustrating the yearly average salary trends. Additionally, the chart compares these figures with the overall average salary trends of graduates from all schools, providing a comprehensive view of how Top of the Line Barber College’s graduates stand in terms of earning potential relative to their peers nationwide. This data is crucial for prospective students assessing the ROI of their education at Top of the Line Barber College.

In 2021, graduates from the Helene Fuld College of Nursing had the highest mid-career salary in the United States, at 95,600 U.S. dollars. Graduates from Laboure College had the second highest mid-career salary, at 90,800 U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over (LEU0252917300A) from 1979 to 2024 about no college, second quartile, secondary schooling, secondary, full-time, 25 years +, salaries, workers, earnings, education, wages, median, employment, and USA.

The age groups available in the dataset are: 15+, 25+, 25-34, 25-54 and 25-64.

Type of work includes full-time and part-time.

The educational levels include: 0-8 yrs., some high school, high school graduate, some post-secondary, post-secondary certificate diploma and university degree.

Wages include average weekly wage rate.

The immigration statuses include: total landed immigrants (very recent immigrants, recent immigrants, established immigrants), non-landed immigrants and born in Canada.

In 2024, Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni earned the highest average annual salary of alumni at leading business schools worldwide, with an annual income of over ******* U.S. dollars. At the Harvard Business School, the average annual salary of alumni was ******* U.S. dollars. Most of the business schools with the highest earning alumni were located in the United States.

In the time between 2023 and 2024, low-income families paid ****** U.S. dollars on average for college, whereas high-income families paid ****** U.S. dollars during this time. On average, families in the United States paid ****** U.S. dollars for college.

Over the past five years, for-profit universities have faced mounting headwinds amid regulatory tightening, inflation and negative public perception. While data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that overall postsecondary enrollment grew by just 0.5% from 2020 to 2025, enrollment at for-profit institutions shrank by 4.1%. Ballooning student debt and rising tuition, made worse by inflation in 2022 and 2023, have driven many recent graduates and adult learners to second-guess the value of higher education, especially degrees from for-profit schools with poor graduate earnings. Government regulations added further strain as the Biden administration's 2024 reinstatement of gainful employment rules once again linked access to federal funding to graduate debt-to-income ratios. At the same time, for-profit schools battled declining revenue as affordable nonprofit and vocational programs drew away budget-conscious students. Industry revenue has dropped at a CAGR of 0.5% to an estimated $13.6 billion over the five years through 2025. A faltering reputation has played a major role in the industry's decline. According to Federal Student Aid data, for-profit universities are repeatedly criticized for low graduation rates, weak graduate earnings and high student loan default rates—the highest across any demographic. Allegations of predatory practices remain in the headlines, exemplified by Walden University's $28.5 million lawsuit settlement in 2024. Although these institutions offer flexible scheduling and lower tuition rates that appeal to low-income and nontraditional students, the public remains wary. Studies indicate that most programs with no positive return on investment are at for-profit colleges. Meanwhile, stricter government scrutiny and the widespread availability of earnings and debt data have made poor outcomes highly visible, solidifying the negative perception. Many for-profit universities have shuttered, though some have managed to retain profit by closing physical locations. For-profit universities will continue facing a decline over the next five years. IBISWorld expects for-profit university enrollment to drop at an annualized 1.1% through 2030, outpaced by modest growth at nonprofit and vocational schools, where graduates see better employment outcomes. Uncertainty in regulations, including the possible repeal of the 90/10 rule, adds more volatility, while the lack of broad student loan forgiveness will likely suppress affordability and demand. As students and job seekers prioritize educational outcomes and cost, one in seven for-profit universities is expected to close by 2030. For-profit universities' revenue is set to sink at a CAGR of 0.3% to an estimated $13.4 billion through the next five years.

This dataset provides information about Massachusetts public high school graduates enrolling into institutions of higher education by student group since 2004. It includes the count and percentage of students enrolled in any college or university, as well as a breakdown of enrollment in private vs. public, two-year vs. four-year, and Massachusetts vs. out-of-state institutions. It also includes the percentage of students enrolled in a Massachusetts community college, a Massachusetts state university, or the University of Massachusetts system.

The data provided in the report are based on point-in-time matching of graduates with higher education enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). For more information about working with NSC data, including coverage and FERPA implications, please visit their Working with Our Data page.

Results are not reported for higher education enrollments of fewer than 15. Prior to the 2015 high school graduating class, the data refers to students attending college within 16 months of graduating high school. From 2015 on, the data is also provided by high school graduates attending college by the March following their high school graduation year. The percentages in the report are available by college attendee or high school graduate.

Economically Disadvantaged was used 2015-2021. Low Income was used prior to 2015, and a different version of Low Income has been used since 2022. Please see the DESE Researcher's Guide for more information.

This dataset contains the same data that is also published on our DESE Profiles site: Graduates Attending Higher Ed