Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Civil Engineering

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

Programs tracked: 220

Avg grad salary: $75,827

Total graduates: 15,212

Top Colleges for Civil Engineering: 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	USC Los Angeles, CA	$106,533	$85,262	18	$8,125	10.0%
2	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	$100,598	$84,883	17	N/A	43.8%
3	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	$95,056	$80,261	32	$12,750	8.2%
4	California State University-Chico Chico, CA	$93,131	$72,350	79	$21,583	93.7%
5	Cal Poly SLO San Luis Obispo, CA	$91,424	$80,673	141	$20,424	29.8%
6	UC Davis Davis, CA	$91,243	$75,165	132	$16,101	41.6%
7	UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$91,006	$78,142	52	$14,392	11.7%
8	Manhattan University Riverdale, NY	$90,904	$75,290	128	$27,000	78.5%
9	UCLA Los Angeles, CA	$90,288	$75,510	44	$19,444	8.7%
10	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	$90,155	$73,178	85	$18,767	91.9%
11	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	$89,286	$68,256	69	$18,873	96.2%
12	Lafayette College Easton, PA	$88,494	$70,391	24	$16,000	31.5%
13	Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ	$87,839	$74,011	57	$27,000	43.4%
14	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	N/A	$87,790	18	$27,000	40.3%
15	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	$86,596	$73,584	160	$19,832	34.4%
16	UC Irvine Irvine, CA	$86,209	$73,835	114	$19,700	25.6%
17	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA	$85,859	$76,419	54	$27,000	58.5%
18	Saint Martin's University Lacey, WA	$85,216	$71,601	19	$23,616	75.9%
19	NYU New York, NY	$85,133	$72,628	31	$21,905	9.4%
20	University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI	$85,123	$67,764	44	$18,750	17.9%
21	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	$85,090	$74,499	43	$20,100	12.4%
22	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	$84,701	$75,758	273	$16,500	73.7%
23	University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage, AK	$84,688	$72,140	20	$31,000	66.5%
24	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	$84,685	$74,748	60	$27,000	41.7%
25	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	$84,258	$71,342	216	$19,124	93.6%
26	University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	$84,135	$74,772	25	$14,903	16.9%
27	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	$83,849	$73,342	136	$16,437	47.1%
28	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	$83,693	$72,606	111	$13,548	86.7%
29	Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston, MA	$83,692	$75,001	78	$27,000	85.4%
30	The Catholic University of America Washington, DC	$83,146	$77,501	17	$24,750	83.8%
31	RPI Troy, NY	$82,696	$71,790	55	$26,979	58.5%
32	University of Houston Houston, TX	$82,614	$74,822	74	$18,000	69.5%
33	Northeastern University Boston, MA	$82,584	$76,362	95	$24,750	9.9%
34	UC San Diego La Jolla, CA	$82,584	$65,478	90	$16,400	24.5%
35	University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK	$82,560	$71,312	21	$13,750	N/A
36	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	$82,475	$75,822	94	$23,812	88.8%
37	Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA	$82,297	$75,688	100	$22,957	16.5%
38	University of Washington Seattle, WA	$82,149	$73,357	99	$14,874	42.5%
39	UT Austin Austin, TX	$82,103	$75,153	126	$21,030	29.1%
40	Texas A&M University College Station, TX	$82,035	$75,793	214	$19,500	63.2%
41	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	$81,967	$62,768	88	$18,732	93.2%
42	Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT	$81,842	$71,859	35	$31,000	75.5%
43	CUNY City College New York, NY	$81,836	$67,194	90	$17,500	58.1%
44	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	$81,821	$69,655	39	$18,500	85.7%
45	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	$81,556	$70,388	105	$23,825	53.9%
46	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	$81,556	$70,388	105	$23,825	86.5%
47	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	$81,556	$70,388	105	$23,825	86.5%
48	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT	$81,556	$70,388	105	$23,825	80.2%
49	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	$81,556	$70,388	105	$23,825	87.0%
50	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	$81,375	$73,545	21	$27,000	29.3%
51	University of Maryland College Park, MD	$81,235	$76,731	99	$21,437	44.8%
52	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	$80,974	$74,655	120	$27,000	70.9%
53	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA	$80,775	$71,093	81	$15,267	96.4%
54	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI	$80,636	$68,386	32	$27,000	87.4%
55	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH	$80,489	$71,377	59	$24,500	87.7%
56	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	$80,416	$69,757	96	$27,000	57.8%
57	Montana Technological University Butte, MT	N/A	$80,327	17	N/A	89.9%
58	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	$80,265	$71,246	99	$23,250	43.4%
59	Citadel Military College of South Carolina Charleston, SC	$80,055	$61,163	59	$24,500	98.1%
60	The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX	$79,903	$70,629	104	$20,542	81.3%

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

Choosing the Best Civil Engineering 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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