Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Mathematics

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

Programs tracked: 253

Avg grad salary: $62,568

Total graduates: 9,819

Top Colleges for Mathematics: 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	26	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	69	$10,000	5.2%
4	Stanford University Stanford, CA	$200,950	$138,613	91	$10,399	3.9%
5	MIT Cambridge, MA	$199,774	$154,492	34	$10,003	4.7%
6	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	$185,679	$152,656	43	$14,146	8.2%
7	Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA	$183,524	$166,573	40	$23,000	13.1%
8	UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$178,867	$149,866	43	$20,500	11.7%
9	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	$175,145	$117,578	18	$12,000	4.8%
10	Caltech Pasadena, CA	N/A	$173,344	23	N/A	3.1%
11	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	$164,139	$122,244	44	$10,000	6.3%
12	Columbia University New York, NY	$160,457	$118,636	22	$20,397	4.2%
13	Duke University Durham, NC	$159,845	$133,356	22	$13,000	6.8%
14	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IN	$157,625	$100,294	23	$25,000	72.8%
15	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	$157,053	$132,919	32	$11,617	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	62	$15,501	91.8%
19	University of Washington Seattle, WA	$144,297	$128,887	62	$15,501	42.5%
20	UIUC Champaign, IL	$143,775	$124,530	50	$20,847	43.7%
21	USC Los Angeles, CA	$143,152	$137,284	47	$12,251	10.0%
22	Pomona College Claremont, CA	N/A	$143,084	16	N/A	6.8%
23	Tufts University Medford, MA	$139,886	$110,512	20	$17,750	10.1%
24	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	$136,559	$99,878	19	$22,500	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	102	$16,250	24.5%
27	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	$131,399	$86,749	54	$18,025	15.7%
28	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	$130,650	$99,981	29	$12,418	7.1%
29	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA	$129,473	$66,481	20	$18,212	94.7%
30	RPI Troy, NY	$129,412	$104,943	39	$24,250	58.5%
31	Georgetown University Washington, DC	$126,103	$92,974	37	$17,500	13.1%
32	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY	$125,429	$94,611	24	$26,682	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	35	$13,807	10.0%
36	Boston University Boston, MA	$119,493	$90,050	30	$19,750	10.8%
37	UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	$118,830	$107,776	72	$17,000	27.8%
38	Seattle University Seattle, WA	$117,447	$85,285	17	$23,281	76.0%
39	Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ	$117,107	$99,007	36	$25,841	43.4%
40	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	$117,066	$83,171	26	$10,859	7.6%
41	University of Portland Portland, OR	$116,906	$85,637	34	$20,810	95.4%
42	Purdue University West Lafayette, IN	$116,601	$94,786	37	$18,820	50.3%
43	Montana State University Bozeman, MT	$116,065	$66,918	27	$24,000	86.8%
44	Carleton College Northfield, MN	$116,048	$88,132	40	$18,233	22.3%
45	Ithaca College Ithaca, NY	$115,841	$70,239	20	$21,000	69.9%
46	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	$115,672	$80,431	50	$26,142	35.3%
47	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	$114,997	$82,329	100	$19,725	37.7%
48	Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC	$114,622	$75,625	29	$20,674	21.6%
49	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	$114,046	$90,625	169	$12,000	69.2%
50	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	$111,935	$88,554	70	$23,250	57.8%
51	UC Irvine Irvine, CA	$111,041	$82,161	79	$19,000	25.6%
52	Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO	$110,684	$86,268	17	$21,500	59.7%
53	WashU (St. Louis) St. Louis, MO	N/A	$110,302	23	$18,700	12.0%
54	Portland State University Portland, OR	$109,690	$78,669	58	$26,480	90.9%
55	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA	$109,547	$86,167	66	$25,539	85.2%
56	Amherst College Amherst, MA	$109,199	$100,596	32	$14,745	9.8%
57	California State University-Chico Chico, CA	$108,095	$81,021	23	$15,000	93.7%
58	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	$107,813	$62,821	28	$16,949	93.2%
59	UNC Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	$107,225	$90,293	73	$14,500	18.7%
60	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	$106,799	$88,587	85	$23,854	29.3%

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

Choosing the Best Mathematics 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