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

Use the CollegeBound compare tool to see full profiles (admissions, costs, and outcomes) for any two schools at once.

Open Compare Tool

Explore Other Majors

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingView →Business Administration, Management and OperationsView →Psychology, GeneralView →Criminal Justice and CorrectionsView →Business/Commerce, GeneralView →Biology, GeneralView →

← Back to Rankings