Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Computer Science

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

Programs tracked: 345

Avg grad salary: $88,569

Total graduates: 29,388

Top Colleges for Computer Science — 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	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	$256,539	$152,251	55	N/A	3.5%
2	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	$247,552	$171,264	73	$21,442	11.4%
3	Brown University Providence, RI	$218,525	$151,065	127	$11,500	5.2%
4	Stanford University Stanford, CA	$200,950	$138,613	91	$10,399	3.9%
5	MIT Cambridge, MA	$199,774	$154,492	161	$12,000	4.7%
6	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	$185,679	$152,656	282	$14,698	8.2%
7	Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA	$183,524	$166,573	31	$22,949	13.1%
8	UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$178,867	$149,866	318	$13,900	11.7%
9	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	$175,145	$117,578	25	N/A	4.8%
10	Caltech Pasadena, CA	N/A	$173,344	23	N/A	3.1%
11	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	$164,139	$122,244	56	$14,500	6.3%
12	Columbia University New York, NY	$160,457	$118,636	186	$20,397	4.2%
13	Duke University Durham, NC	$159,845	$133,356	185	$13,500	6.8%
14	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IN	$157,625	$100,294	58	$24,500	72.8%
15	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	$157,053	$132,919	73	$18,490	6.2%
16	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	N/A	$146,624	67	N/A	4.5%
17	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	$146,438	$124,678	28	$13,500	5.9%
18	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA	$144,297	$128,887	312	$16,118	91.8%
19	University of Washington Seattle, WA	$144,297	$128,887	312	$16,118	42.5%
20	UIUC Champaign, IL	$143,775	$124,530	175	$20,500	43.7%
21	USC Los Angeles, CA	$143,152	$137,284	123	$20,178	10.0%
22	Pomona College Claremont, CA	N/A	$143,084	19	N/A	6.8%
23	Tufts University Medford, MA	$139,886	$105,659	112	$15,500	10.1%
24	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	$136,559	$99,878	80	$19,000	35.9%
25	Emory University Atlanta, GA	$133,212	$80,623	31	$15,250	11.1%
26	UC San Diego La Jolla, CA	$131,731	$112,006	266	$16,550	24.5%
27	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	$131,399	$86,749	74	$19,000	15.7%
28	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	$130,650	$99,981	63	$14,600	7.1%
29	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA	$129,473	$66,481	57	$20,305	94.7%
30	RPI Troy, NY	$129,412	$104,943	219	$23,250	58.5%
31	Georgetown University Washington, DC	$126,103	$92,974	42	$16,007	13.1%
32	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY	$125,429	$94,611	196	$27,000	71.4%
33	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA	$124,359	$93,888	165	$27,000	58.5%
34	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	$121,602	$89,915	61	$22,792	50.8%
35	Williams College Williamstown, MA	$119,517	$110,814	53	$12,208	10.0%
36	Boston University Boston, MA	$119,493	$90,050	151	$23,250	10.8%
37	UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	$118,830	$107,776	62	$11,000	27.8%
38	Seattle University Seattle, WA	$117,447	$85,285	48	$24,980	76.0%
39	Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ	$117,107	$99,007	91	$27,000	43.4%
40	University of Portland Portland, OR	$116,906	$85,637	31	$22,590	95.4%
41	Purdue University West Lafayette, IN	$116,601	$94,786	244	$19,375	50.3%
42	Montana State University Bozeman, MT	$116,065	$66,918	105	$22,500	86.8%
43	Carleton College Northfield, MN	$116,048	$88,132	40	$18,233	22.3%
44	Ithaca College Ithaca, NY	$115,841	$70,239	20	$21,000	69.9%
45	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	$115,672	$80,431	50	$26,142	35.3%
46	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	$114,997	$82,329	86	$19,500	37.7%
47	Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC	$114,622	$75,625	29	$20,674	21.6%
48	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	$114,046	$90,625	169	$12,000	69.2%
49	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	$111,935	$88,554	191	$23,569	57.8%
50	Cal Poly SLO San Luis Obispo, CA	N/A	$111,141	146	$19,298	29.8%
51	UC Irvine Irvine, CA	$111,041	$82,161	595	$15,500	25.6%
52	Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO	$110,684	$86,268	83	$23,000	59.7%
53	WashU (St. Louis) St. Louis, MO	N/A	$110,302	68	$15,500	12.0%
54	Portland State University Portland, OR	$109,690	$78,669	174	$31,000	90.9%
55	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA	$109,547	$86,167	187	$27,000	85.2%
56	California State University-Chico Chico, CA	$108,095	$81,021	60	$20,000	93.7%
57	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	$107,813	$62,821	137	$18,483	93.2%
58	UNC Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	$107,225	$90,293	339	$14,131	18.7%
59	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	$106,799	$88,587	85	$23,854	29.3%
60	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	$106,141	$76,747	124	$8,250	54.0%

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

Choosing the Best Computer Science 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.

Compare schools side by side

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