The states whose colleges produce America’s highest-earning graduates revealed
Story credit to: https://www.degreechoices.com/
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• A new study has revealed Massachusetts as the state with the highest-earning college graduates, who average an annual salary of $59,862 four years after leaving college.
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• Connecticut and New Jersey also ranked high on the list with average earnings of $59,356 and $58,904, respectively.
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• Dartmouth College was the only Ivy League school to rank as the institution with the highest-earning graduates in any state.
Massachusetts is the state with the highest-earning college graduates, according to a new study.
Higher education research group DegreeChoices examined the latest College Scorecard data on the median earnings of college students working and not enrolled four years after completing their degree in 2022. Data was gathered on over 5,500 institutions which predominantly offered four-year degrees, before being aggregated by state and ranked based on the states with the highest average earnings.
Massachusetts topped the study with the highest average earnings of any state in the country. Students who studied at Massachusetts institutions averaged an annual salary of $59,862 four years after leaving college. Those previously enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were the biggest earners in the state, securing a huge average annual salary of $129,392.
Connecticut fell just short of Massachusetts in the study with the second highest-earning graduates. Four years after completing their degree, graduates of Connecticut colleges earned an average salary of $59,356. The American Sentinel College of Nursing and Health Science produced the most well-paid graduates in the state, with former alumni averaging $91,818, over $30,000 more than the average state-wide salary of college graduates.
New Jersey is one of five northeastern states to be named among the top 10 states with the highest-earning college graduates. With an average of $58,904, graduates who studied at New Jersey colleges are the third highest earning in the entire country. A private institution, the Stevens Institute of Technology was home to the state’s wealthiest alumni four years after graduation. They were earning an average salary of $94,319.
California claimed the fourth spot in the study of the states with the highest-earning college graduates. According to College Scorecard data, people who graduated from a California institution earned an average salary of $58,441 four years later. Graduates from the California Institute of Technology have the highest median salary of any college alumni in the entire state and across the entire country. Four years after completing their degree, Caltech graduates earn an estimated $139,418.
Nevada filled out the top five states with the highest-earning college graduates. Students who had finished at a Nevada college four years ago took home an average yearly income of $58,376, higher than any state in the West other than California. The Roseman University of Health Sciences is the college with the highest earners in the state. Graduates from Roseman take home around $90,036 per annum four years after finishing their college course.
Maryland has been recognized as the state with the sixth highest-earning college graduates. Graduates who studied in the state rank among the highest average earners in the country, securing an annual salary of $57,844 four years after completing their studies. The state’s highest-earning graduates were found at Capitol Technology University. People who studied at Capitol Tech had an average annual salary of $101,939, nearly double the average graduate salary in the state.
Rhode Island is home to the seventh highest-earning graduates in America. People who graduated from Rhode Island institutions pocketed an average annual salary of $57,255 four years after leaving college. Despite having an Ivy League college in Brown University, Bryant University produces the highest-earning graduates in the state, with alumni earning $74,390 on average.
New Hampshire is also where some of America’s highest-earning graduates can be found. Those studying in New Hampshire earn an estimated $55,482 four years after graduating, helping secure its position as the state with the eighth highest earning graduates. Esteemed Ivy League institution Dartmouth College produces the highest-earning graduates in the state, with graduates reaching $90,893 annually just a few years after completing their degrees. Dartmouth was the only Ivy League college to rank top in any state.
Washington and Delaware rounded out the states with the highest-earning college graduates, averaging annual salaries of $55,125 and $54,810, respectively.
Table: The states whose colleges have the highest-earning graduates working and not enrolled four years after completing
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Ranking |
State |
Average Earnings |
|
1 |
Massachusetts |
59,862 |
|
2 |
Connecticut |
59,356 |
|
3 |
New Jersey |
58,904 |
|
4 |
California |
58,441 |
|
5 |
Nevada |
58,376 |
|
6 |
Maryland |
57,844 |
|
7 |
Rhode Island |
57,255 |
|
8 |
New Hampshire |
55,482 |
|
9 |
Washington |
55,125 |
|
10 |
Delaware |
54,810 |
David Levy, Author at DegreeChoices, commented on the study: “Unsurprisingly, the Northeast seems to produce more higher-earning graduates than any other region of America. With a number of quality educational opportunities and a high cost of living compared to the South and Midwest, it remains to be seen whether these institutions retain their popularity over the next few years or if college prospects opt for more affordable regions of America.”
“With the acceptance rate of elite colleges hitting historic lows and college applications reaching new heights, it will be interesting to see which colleges produce the top earners in the next few years. With only one Ivy League college (Dartmouth) producing the top earners in any state, it will be fascinating to keep an eye out and see if these emerging higher education trends propel any of these historic institutions to the very top of the study.”
Story credit to: https://www.degreechoices.com/
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
