Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Business/Commerce, General

Ranked by graduate earnings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard — updated 2026.

Programs tracked: 242

Avg grad salary: $55,554

Total graduates: 65,272

Top Colleges for Business/Commerce, General — Ranked by Graduate Earnings

Showing schools with reported earnings data. Earnings reflect median graduate salary 4 years after graduation (or 1 year where 4-year data is unavailable).

#	School	Median Salary (4yr)	Starting Salary (1yr)	Graduates	Median Debt	Admit Rate
1	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	$206,646	$122,698	135	$12,865	5.9%
2	WashU (St. Louis) St. Louis, MO	$152,625	$102,814	54	$19,250	12.0%
3	Georgetown University Washington, DC	$126,672	$106,218	111	$16,877	13.1%
4	NYU New York, NY	$115,546	$77,828	259	$19,500	9.4%
5	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	$113,839	$83,159	121	$19,500	61.2%
6	Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC	$113,398	$85,944	55	$18,899	21.6%
7	Fordham University Bronx, NY	$112,777	$83,789	173	$26,850	56.3%
8	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	$111,893	$99,222	20	$19,000	12.4%
9	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	$110,242	$82,495	262	$18,000	15.7%
10	Villanova University Villanova, PA	$110,166	$82,008	247	$26,197	25.1%
11	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	$107,260	$76,720	151	$23,250	29.3%
12	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	$106,444	$79,929	91	$16,201	43.8%
13	George Washington University Washington, DC	$101,012	$73,833	21	$20,500	43.5%
14	UIUC Champaign, IL	$99,685	$75,381	189	$19,500	43.7%
15	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	$98,950	$64,972	67	$24,347	50.8%
16	Fairfield University Fairfield, CT	$98,540	$62,952	148	$27,000	45.0%
17	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	$96,161	$83,876	207	$11,750	69.2%
18	UT Austin Austin, TX	$95,994	$94,041	23	$20,500	29.1%
19	University of Maryland College Park, MD	$95,162	$75,689	208	$19,500	44.8%
20	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	$94,451	$67,849	134	$20,500	76.3%
21	University of Washington Seattle, WA	$94,385	$63,500	175	$14,208	42.5%
22	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA	$94,385	$63,500	175	$14,208	83.0%
23	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	$94,174	$73,598	79	$15,000	37.7%
24	Elon University Elon, NC	$92,616	$66,614	110	$19,500	67.3%
25	Bentley University Waltham, MA	$92,531	$72,309	272	$26,000	48.4%
26	Northeastern University Boston, MA	$91,376	$74,868	679	$24,000	9.9%
27	Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA	$91,304	$61,304	54	$27,000	64.0%
28	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	$91,086	$72,819	208	$27,000	41.7%
29	Texas A&M University College Station, TX	$90,976	$71,409	145	$16,880	63.2%
30	Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX	$90,933	$78,453	92	$19,500	42.6%
31	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	$90,829	$68,066	97	$18,850	87.2%
32	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	$90,660	$70,542	84	$19,500	40.3%
33	Baylor University Waco, TX	$90,608	$74,886	22	$15,000	51.0%
34	Stonehill College Easton, MA	$90,245	$58,832	51	$26,000	72.6%
35	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	$89,692	$70,352	105	$14,500	18.5%
36	Tulane University New Orleans, LA	$89,537	$77,806	129	$21,500	14.6%
37	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA	$89,485	$72,850	27	$26,500	58.5%
38	Indiana University Bloomington, IN	$89,404	$71,100	1,243	$19,500	80.4%
39	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH	$88,554	$71,203	312	$22,000	82.1%
40	University of San Diego San Diego, CA	$88,295	$64,819	133	$23,508	46.8%
41	Saint Anselm College Manchester, NH	$87,973	$62,821	70	$27,000	78.3%
42	University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN	$87,799	$69,094	285	$21,500	77.0%
43	The Catholic University of America Washington, DC	$87,663	$64,618	38	$24,620	83.8%
44	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	$87,592	$67,009	48	$19,078	53.9%
45	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	$87,592	$67,009	48	$19,078	86.5%
46	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	$87,592	$67,009	48	$19,078	86.5%
47	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT	$87,592	$67,009	48	$19,078	80.2%
48	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	$87,592	$67,009	48	$19,078	87.0%
49	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	$86,244	$68,681	270	$21,500	43.4%
50	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY	$86,145	$56,513	35	$23,250	71.4%
51	Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ	$86,111	$68,338	762	$22,500	77.8%
52	Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ	$86,111	$68,338	762	$22,500	65.3%
53	Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ	$86,111	$68,338	762	$22,500	78.7%
54	American University Washington, DC	$86,053	$83,505	40	$22,625	47.4%
55	Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	$85,837	$66,601	203	$22,500	57.0%
56	Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA	$85,648	$66,072	138	$25,000	86.4%
57	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI	$85,623	$67,888	112	$24,044	87.4%
58	Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL	$84,622	$66,919	112	$24,988	81.4%
59	Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT	$84,583	$52,059	71	$26,000	77.0%
60	University of Denver Denver, CO	$84,578	$56,402	37	$21,000	71.2%

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median among graduates who received federal financial aid.

Choosing the Best Business/Commerce, General Program

Graduate Earnings

Median salary 4 years post-graduation measures the long-term ROI of a program. Higher earnings with lower debt means better financial outcomes.

Program Size

Graduate count signals program maturity. Larger programs often have stronger alumni networks and more job placement resources.

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio

Compare median debt against starting salary. A ratio below 1x means most graduates can repay loans within a year of earnings.

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