Median Starting Salaries (by Institution): Mechanical Engineering

Salary (by major) data was collected from the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDOE) College Scorecard platform and indicates the median salary of an institution’s graduates five years after receiving their bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, along with the number of graduates per institution for which the USDOE has salary data. Since the USDOE focuses only on early-career salaries, we limit the salary tables on our Dataverse to “pre-professional” majors where students are more likely to pursue employment immediately after graduation (e.g., as opposed to attending graduate school) and within their undergraduate field of study.

*Note that the USDOE is not able to disclose salary data by major for all institutions offering a major in this area. For example, if a group of individuals within a certain institution is too small, the USDOE must suppress salary data in order to prevent identification of the group’s individuals.

Table Updated March 2026

Institution# GraduatesMedian Starting Salary
243744Stanford University49$140,707
198419Duke University90$125,085
122931Santa Clara University57$118,350SCU
162928Johns Hopkins University46$118,204JHU
215062University of Pennsylvania62$116,366UPenn
211440Carnegie Mellon University121$115,666CMU
111188California State University Maritime Academy19$114,735
196291SUNY Maritime College18$114,377
190415Cornell University121$113,983
216597Villanova University69$113,966
122755San Jose State University154$112,360SJSU
110635University of California-Berkeley170$112,325UC Berkeley; UCB
110422California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo293$110,675
110662University of California-Los Angeles154$108,947UCLA
123961University of Southern California96$107,591USC
166683Massachusetts Institute of Technology134$106,765MIT
441982Franklin W Olin College of Engineering21$106,657
227757Rice University58$105,734
120883University of the Pacific15$105,548
167358Northeastern University240$104,723
159391Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College121$104,396LSU
226091Lamar University81$104,395
147767Northwestern University65$104,154
228778The University of Texas at Austin274$104,021UT; UT Austin
190150Columbia University in the City of New York48$103,801
169983Kettering University235$102,774
110538California State University-Chico72$102,703
209506Oregon Institute of Technology68$102,683
163286University of Maryland-College Park331$102,581UMD
187985University of New Mexico-Main Campus77$102,379UNM
110529California State Polytechnic University-Pomona227$101,659
170976University of Michigan-Ann Arbor316$101,514UMich
236595Seattle University33$101,374
179867Washington University in St Louis94$101,263
186867Stevens Institute of Technology124$101,241Stevens Tech
213543Lehigh University95$101,225
221999Vanderbilt University49$101,152
171571Oakland University160$101,107
187967New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology47$100,852
110705University of California-Santa Barbara73$100,669UCSB: UC Santa Barbara
110608California State University-Northridge222$100,421
168421Worcester Polytechnic Institute229$100,164WPI
110644University of California-Davis234$99,885UC Davis
211291Bucknell University38$99,777
122597San Francisco State University102$99,619SFSU
110680University of California-San Diego232$99,554UCSD; UC San Diego
171100Michigan State University279$99,381MSU
122409San Diego State University227$99,279SDSU
212054Drexel University168$99,010
139755Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus510$98,607Georgia Tech
172644Wayne State University114$98,434
196413Syracuse University56$98,391
141574University of Hawaii at Manoa75$98,092
188030New Mexico State University-Main Campus100$98,083NMSU
110583California State University-Long Beach168$97,895
240444University of Wisconsin-Madison183$97,845UW Madison
228723Texas A & M University-College Station400$97,743
216852Widener University35$97,717
233921Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University376$97,664Virginia Tech; Va Tech
196097Stony Brook University132$97,629
196866Union College38$97,575
243780Purdue University-Main Campus395$97,551
110556California State University-Fresno71$97,316
168227Wentworth Institute of Technology127$97,305WIT
122436University of San Diego60$97,127USD
230038Brigham Young University176$97,124BYU
229018The University of Texas Permian Basin48$96,881
227526Prairie View A & M University77$96,773
145637University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign210$96,770UIUC
135726University of Miami30$96,535UM; UMiami
225511University of Houston240$96,269UH
191649Hofstra University34$96,233
176080Mississippi State University192$96,021MSU
152080University of Notre Dame114$95,893UND
104179University of Arizona117$95,672
174066University of Minnesota-Twin Cities200$95,566UMN
110653University of California-Irvine287$95,534UCI; UC Irvine
166513University of Massachusetts-Lowell214$95,465UMass Lowell
204796Ohio State University-Main Campus234$95,293OSU
168148Tufts University52$95,235
228246Southern Methodist University73$95,148SMU
166629University of Massachusetts-Amherst194$94,995UMass Amherst
164988Boston University137$94,926BU
170675Lawrence Technological University68$94,853
131469George Washington University42$94,843GWU
186380Rutgers University-New Brunswick170$94,837RU
236948University of Washington-Seattle Campus114$94,653UW
377555University of Washington-Bothell Campus63$94,653UW
209542Oregon State University271$94,649OSU
102614University of Alaska Fairbanks26$94,625
102553University of Alaska Anchorage33$94,609
178402University of Missouri-Kansas City61$94,596UMKC
133951Florida International University163$94,520FIU
194824Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute239$94,402RPI
104151Arizona State University Campus Immersion273$94,295ASU
134130University of Florida373$94,291UF
155317University of Kansas132$94,190KU
213385Lafayette College60$94,144
110592California State University-Los Angeles164$94,122
215293University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus184$93,999
192703Manhattan College73$93,907
126775Colorado School of Mines299$93,871
133553Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach80$93,818
104586Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott38$93,818
183044University of New Hampshire-Main Campus102$93,816UNH
133881Florida Institute of Technology84$93,714FIT
129020University of Connecticut194$93,562UConn
202480University of Dayton182$93,487
229115Texas Tech University305$93,452
190567CUNY City College144$93,362
163268University of Maryland-Baltimore County148$93,344UMBC
217484University of Rhode Island93$93,316URI
110671University of California-Riverside110$93,294UC Riverside
102377Tuskegee University40$93,145
152318Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology134$93,120RHIT
110565California State University-Fullerton195$93,073
190044Clarkson University160$92,873
178396University of Missouri-Columbia145$92,736Mizzou
134097Florida State University87$92,658FSU
132903University of Central Florida445$92,483UCF
174914University of St Thomas93$92,439
131283The Catholic University of America35$92,376
195030University of Rochester61$92,363UR
127060University of Denver33$92,358UD
201645Case Western Reserve University99$92,158CWRU
236939Washington State University279$92,146WSU
180461Montana State University158$92,132
117946Loyola Marymount University43$92,031LMU
169248Central Michigan University65$91,993
173920Minnesota State University-Mankato31$91,980
232982Old Dominion University150$91,945
100858Auburn University252$91,940
209825University of Portland64$91,884
100751The University of Alabama343$91,807
126614University of Colorado Boulder240$91,715CU Boulder
207388Oklahoma State University-Main Campus256$91,640
130943University of Delaware114$91,595UDel
207500University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus98$91,580
178411Missouri University of Science and Technology233$91,528MUST
172699Western Michigan University84$91,489
228796The University of Texas at El Paso214$91,486UT
195003Rochester Institute of Technology137$91,471RIT
110617California State University-Sacramento210$91,357
234076University of Virginia-Main Campus64$91,262UVA
128771Central Connecticut State University47$91,231
137351University of South Florida196$91,161USF
199193North Carolina State University at Raleigh285$91,136NC State; NCSU
174233University of Minnesota-Duluth113$91,075
201885University of Cincinnati-Main Campus233$90,998Cincy
178420University of Missouri-St Louis27$90,966
221759The University of Tennessee-Knoxville155$90,860UTK
161554University of Southern Maine25$90,682
171128Michigan Technological University263$90,615
160658University of Louisiana at Lafayette120$90,611
207971University of Tulsa59$90,509
237950West Virginia University Institute of Technology17$90,443
238032West Virginia University156$90,443WVU
143358Bradley University79$90,408
167987University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth57$90,396UMass Dartmouth
129941University of New Haven37$90,370
100706University of Alabama in Huntsville142$90,362
214777Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus545$90,200PSU; Penn State
126580University of Colorado Colorado Springs96$90,079
157289University of Louisville111$90,074UL
224147Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi80$90,045
228705Texas A & M University-Kingsville67$89,788
155399Kansas State University175$89,754KSU
229814West Texas A & M University45$89,635
219347South Dakota School of Mines and Technology64$89,548
102094University of South Alabama65$89,384
184782Rowan University92$89,308
206084University of Toledo177$89,223
172051Saginaw Valley State University46$89,093
126818Colorado State University-Fort Collins153$89,087CSU
105330Northern Arizona University144$89,027NAU
133669Florida Atlantic University105$89,022FAU
129242Fairfield University31$88,933
145725Illinois Institute of Technology87$88,837IIT
200280University of North Dakota103$88,823UND
209807Portland State University117$88,755
153603Iowa State University451$88,697ISU
160621Southern University and A & M College24$88,564
149222Southern Illinois University-Carbondale49$88,465
159939University of New Orleans59$88,371UNO
217882Clemson University288$88,351
223232Baylor University62$88,325
145600University of Illinois Chicago155$88,275UIC
204635Ohio Northern University42$88,267
156125Wichita State University86$88,218
218663University of South Carolina-Columbia207$88,180USC
221847Tennessee Technological University154$88,130
142276Idaho State University36$88,026ISU
100663University of Alabama at Birmingham39$87,901
182290University of Nevada-Reno155$87,851UNR
157085University of Kentucky169$87,796UK
216339Temple University104$87,733
151111Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis173$87,604IUPUI
231174University of Vermont74$87,582UVM
239318Milwaukee School of Engineering112$87,507MSOE
234030Virginia Commonwealth University106$87,500VCU
230728Utah State University148$87,442
136172University of North Florida76$87,430
199102North Carolina A & T State University95$87,420
200800University of Akron Main Campus181$87,380
228769The University of Texas at Arlington146$87,372UT
185828New Jersey Institute of Technology250$87,372NJIT
239105Marquette University86$87,345
204857Ohio University-Main Campus81$87,293OU
161253University of Maine73$87,105
230764University of Utah156$87,070UU
228802The University of Texas at Tyler97$87,041UT
240453University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee96$87,002
204024Miami University-Oxford100$86,964
217518Roger Williams University27$86,890
159647Louisiana Tech University73$86,794La Tech
486840Kennesaw State University227$86,737
147703Northern Illinois University120$86,692NIU
200332North Dakota State University-Main Campus163$86,495NDSU
228787The University of Texas at Dallas234$86,469UT; UT Dallas
196079Binghamton University107$86,404SUNY Binghamton
220862University of Memphis37$86,402
149231Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville61$86,329
153658University of Iowa104$86,315UI
129525University of Hartford43$86,270
235316Gonzaga University80$86,247
229027The University of Texas at San Antonio169$86,214
142285University of Idaho72$86,119UI
174783Saint Cloud State University36$86,091
206941University of Central Oklahoma29$86,068
170082Grand Valley State University70$85,738
139931Georgia Southern University197$85,716
219356South Dakota State University69$85,669SDSU
142115Boise State University80$85,566
176017University of Mississippi88$85,311Ole Miss
199139University of North Carolina at Charlotte213$85,296UNCC; UNC Charlotte
182281University of Nevada-Las Vegas95$85,200UNLV
445188University of California-Merced155$85,156
221740The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga65$84,859UTC
106397University of Arkansas138$84,481
187134The College of New Jersey41$84,253TCNJ
181464University of Nebraska-Lincoln132$84,216UNL
216931Wilkes University43$84,211
106467Arkansas Tech University65$84,124
206604Wright State University-Main Campus102$83,880
202134Cleveland State University97$83,818
234085Virginia Military Institute41$83,811VMI
193900New York University85$83,656NYU
206695Youngstown State University67$83,601
171146University of Michigan-Flint31$83,494UMIch Flint
152600Valparaiso University46$83,142
100654Alabama A & M University41$82,929
188641Alfred University35$82,912
153250Dordt University23$82,623
201654Cedarville University47$81,962
230995Norwich University36$81,750
227216University of North Texas136$81,391UNT
196088University at Buffalo274$81,124
235097Eastern Washington University77$79,732
107044Harding University30$79,712
216366Thomas Jefferson University13$79,083
240727University of Wyoming57$78,879
212601Gannon University20$78,829
157951Western Kentucky University50$77,336WKU
227368The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley128$77,043
226833Midwestern State University38$76,173
106458Arkansas State University27$73,570
110404California Institute of Technology26N/A (suppressed)Caltech
194091New York Institute of Technology36N/A (suppressed)NYIT
179159Saint Louis University22N/A (suppressed)SLU
221838Tennessee State University23N/A (suppressed)
150534University of Evansville16N/A (suppressed)
131520Howard University24N/A (suppressed)

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