Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Mechanical Engineering

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

Programs tracked: 320

Avg grad salary: $80,608

Total graduates: 37,729

Top Colleges for Mechanical 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	Franklin W Olin College of Engineering Needham, MA	$114,228	$109,455	18	$14,512	21.7%
2	Rice University Houston, TX	$108,850	$87,830	36	$15,375	7.9%
3	UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$108,067	$88,497	90	$13,200	11.7%
4	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	$107,816	$81,721	29	$12,455	5.9%
5	Lamar University Beaumont, TX	$107,127	$87,284	85	$29,000	85.7%
6	USC Los Angeles, CA	$106,533	$85,262	59	$17,500	10.0%
7	Columbia University New York, NY	$105,514	$72,036	47	$16,960	4.2%
8	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	$105,514	$85,578	73	$15,500	8.2%
9	Texas A&M University College Station, TX	$105,292	$86,176	297	$19,500	63.2%
10	UC Davis Davis, CA	$104,701	$82,956	150	$15,000	41.6%
11	Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA	$103,969	$92,491	65	$22,240	13.1%
12	University of Tulsa Tulsa, OK	$101,924	$70,220	41	$19,500	58.0%
13	Duke University Durham, NC	$101,532	$89,938	49	$10,000	6.8%
14	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	$101,352	$80,653	17	$19,500	32.0%
15	California State University Maritime Academy Vallejo, CA	$101,325	$92,315	46	$19,690	98.7%
16	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	$100,598	$84,883	38	$19,500	43.8%
17	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	$100,444	$80,709	47	$15,334	7.1%
18	MIT Cambridge, MA	$99,799	$83,957	109	$11,334	4.7%
19	SUNY Maritime College Throggs Neck, NY	$99,578	$77,895	87	$26,000	78.5%
20	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA	$99,522	$75,311	125	$18,500	74.0%
21	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	$99,093	$77,565	150	$10,500	69.2%
22	UCLA Los Angeles, CA	$97,701	$79,016	85	$17,000	8.7%
23	Tufts University Medford, MA	$97,631	$78,441	21	$16,500	10.1%
24	Cal Poly SLO San Luis Obispo, CA	$97,466	$83,011	235	$20,500	29.8%
25	Kansas State University Manhattan, KS	$97,457	$77,492	202	$25,000	79.4%
26	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	$97,151	$76,523	59	$22,777	11.4%
27	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	$96,794	$84,999	90	$19,000	12.4%
28	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	$96,261	$82,466	254	$21,750	70.9%
29	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	$96,178	$78,009	30	$14,000	6.3%
30	UT Austin Austin, TX	$95,916	$87,365	186	$18,750	29.1%
31	NC State Raleigh, NC	$94,710	$81,492	212	$24,250	39.9%
32	UC San Diego La Jolla, CA	$94,289	$69,555	120	$20,000	24.5%
33	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA	$94,160	$77,380	229	$27,000	85.2%
34	Wayne State University Detroit, MI	$94,043	$74,457	99	$24,140	82.0%
35	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR	$93,785	$75,102	126	$23,014	71.7%
36	University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	$93,745	$85,772	48	$24,250	16.9%
37	Auburn University Auburn, AL	$93,708	$82,217	164	$24,514	50.5%
38	UIUC Champaign, IL	$93,416	$80,187	130	$20,500	43.7%
39	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	$93,219	$66,843	23	$19,000	18.5%
40	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	$93,146	$73,033	184	$20,500	83.3%
41	California State University-Chico Chico, CA	$93,131	$73,297	115	$24,354	93.7%
42	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	$93,093	$82,435	81	$24,950	29.3%
43	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	$93,060	$72,868	93	$20,008	49.0%
44	WashU (St. Louis) St. Louis, MO	$92,896	$72,057	30	$19,000	12.0%
45	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	$92,813	$85,945	117	$20,500	43.4%
46	New York Institute of Technology Old Westbury, NY	$92,781	$56,254	51	$27,225	78.1%
47	Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA	$92,771	$85,847	337	$27,000	16.5%
48	Lafayette College Easton, PA	$92,618	$79,602	32	$19,500	31.5%
49	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	$92,466	$77,586	334	$25,396	70.9%
50	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	$92,357	$78,813	249	$20,500	90.2%
51	University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI	$92,027	$82,823	277	$21,750	17.9%
52	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	$92,000	$79,280	39	$17,708	61.2%
53	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	$91,987	$51,267	36	$15,000	7.6%
54	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	$91,957	$74,748	93	$27,000	41.7%
55	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	$91,729	$87,164	250	$18,131	24.0%
56	George Washington University Washington, DC	$91,691	$82,361	32	$21,500	43.5%
57	Kettering University Flint, MI	$91,536	$79,307	212	$28,000	79.1%
58	Villanova University Villanova, PA	$91,386	$80,962	76	$25,995	25.1%
59	Northeastern University Boston, MA	$91,235	$81,880	260	$25,893	9.9%
60	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS	$91,204	$78,183	192	$22,500	76.3%

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

Choosing the Best Mechanical 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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