Best Schools For Computer Science Majors by Salary Potential

Earn a computer science degree from a school with the highest-paid graduates. Learn more about the best universities for earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science studies by salary.

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RankSchool NameEarly Career Pay
Mid-Career Pay
Rank:1School Name:Harvey Mudd CollegeEarly Career Pay:$134,300Mid-Career Pay:$212,400
Rank:2School Name:Harvard UniversityEarly Career Pay:$117,600Mid-Career Pay:$204,200
Rank:2School Name:University of California-BerkeleyEarly Career Pay:$131,900Mid-Career Pay:$204,200
Rank:4School Name:Dartmouth CollegeEarly Career Pay:$129,800Mid-Career Pay:$203,800
Rank:5School Name:Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyEarly Career Pay:$124,400Mid-Career Pay:$203,600
Rank:6School Name:Stanford UniversityEarly Career Pay:$134,400Mid-Career Pay:$201,200
Rank:7School Name:Columbia University in the City of New YorkEarly Career Pay:$119,000Mid-Career Pay:$200,500
Rank:8School Name:Princeton UniversityEarly Career Pay:$131,500Mid-Career Pay:$199,500
Rank:9School Name:Carnegie Mellon UniversityEarly Career Pay:$125,200Mid-Career Pay:$197,700
Rank:10School Name:Brown UniversityEarly Career Pay:$129,300Mid-Career Pay:$195,800
Rank:11School Name:Brandeis UniversityEarly Career Pay:$100,000Mid-Career Pay:$193,700
Rank:12School Name:University of PennsylvaniaEarly Career Pay:$121,600Mid-Career Pay:$189,600
Rank:13School Name:Duke UniversityEarly Career Pay:$110,200Mid-Career Pay:$189,200
Rank:14School Name:University of California-Santa BarbaraEarly Career Pay:$107,600Mid-Career Pay:$188,800
Rank:15School Name:Rice UniversityEarly Career Pay:$119,300Mid-Career Pay:$186,900
Rank:16School Name:University of California-Santa CruzEarly Career Pay:$103,600Mid-Career Pay:$185,900
Rank:17School Name:Yale UniversityEarly Career Pay:$126,000Mid-Career Pay:$185,000
Rank:18School Name:CUNY Hunter CollegeEarly Career Pay:$95,700Mid-Career Pay:$183,600
Rank:19School Name:University of California-San DiegoEarly Career Pay:$109,400Mid-Career Pay:$182,900
Rank:20School Name:University of Virginia-Main CampusEarly Career Pay:$106,700Mid-Career Pay:$181,900
Rank:21School Name:California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoEarly Career Pay:$105,000Mid-Career Pay:$181,600
Rank:22School Name:Lehigh UniversityEarly Career Pay:$108,700Mid-Career Pay:$181,000
Rank:23School Name:United States Naval AcademyEarly Career Pay:$92,500Mid-Career Pay:$180,800
Rank:24School Name:Worcester Polytechnic InstituteEarly Career Pay:$108,800Mid-Career Pay:$180,300
Rank:25School Name:University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignEarly Career Pay:$103,000Mid-Career Pay:$180,000

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Studying computer science means that you are going to enter one of the most highly paid and fastest-growing job types of the modern economy. But if you are going into a field with the expectation that you’ll be well paid, why not get your education at a school with some of the highest-earning alumni? Use Payscale’s College Salary Report to find out how alumni from the school of your choice do financially after graduation. There are scores of colleges and universities included in the Payscale College Salary Report’s list of Best Schools for Computer Science Majors.

Many of the highest-earning computer science majors come from notable engineering schools, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University and Lehigh. You probably recognize a number of the famous names who earned degrees in computer science: Reed Hastings (founder of LinkedIn), Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, Marissa Mayer (CEO of Yahoo!) and Google co-founder Larry Page (who didn’t actually complete a degree, but studied computer science at Stanford).