Best Public Universities by Salary Potential
Want a great education without the high costs of a private university? Learn more about the top public schools with the highest-earning graduates.
| Rank | School Name | School Type | Early Career Pay | Mid-Career Pay | % High Meaning | % STEM Degrees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | School Name: at Annapolis_50px.png) United States Naval Academy | School Type:Engineering, Liberal Arts School, Sober School, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$94,200 | Mid-Career Pay:$181,500 | % High Meaning:52% | % STEM Degrees:53% |
| Rank:2 | School Name: at West Point_50px.png) United States Military Academy | School Type:Liberal Arts School, Sober School, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$93,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$171,000 | % High Meaning:65% | % STEM Degrees:35% |
| Rank:3 | School Name: University of California-Berkeley | School Type:Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$88,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$167,000 | % High Meaning:49% | % STEM Degrees:43% |
| Rank:4 | School Name:_50px.png) United States Air Force Academy | School Type:Liberal Arts School, Sober School, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$88,900 | Mid-Career Pay:$166,100 | % High Meaning:63% | % STEM Degrees:42% |
| Rank:5 | School Name: Colorado School of Mines | School Type:Engineering, Research University, State School | Early Career Pay:$87,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$165,700 | % High Meaning:56% | % STEM Degrees:91% |
| Rank:6 | School Name: SUNY Maritime College | School Type:State School | Early Career Pay:$86,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$165,400 | % High Meaning:52% | % STEM Degrees:18% |
| Rank:7 | School Name:_50px.png) United States Merchant Marine Academy | School Type:Engineering, State School | Early Career Pay:$98,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$165,200 | % High Meaning:52% | % STEM Degrees:51% |
| Rank:8 | School Name: Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | School Type:Engineering, Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$89,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$163,500 | % High Meaning:47% | % STEM Degrees:77% |
| Rank:9 | School Name: California State University Maritime Academy | School Type:State School | Early Career Pay:$82,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$156,200 | % High Meaning:49% | % STEM Degrees:12% |
| Rank:10 | School Name:_50px.png) University of California-San Diego | School Type:Engineering, Research University, State School | Early Career Pay:$79,200 | Mid-Career Pay:$151,500 | % High Meaning:54% | % STEM Degrees:54% |
| Rank:11 | School Name: - Main Campus_50px.jpg) University of Virginia-Main Campus | School Type:Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$79,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$149,100 | % High Meaning:44% | % STEM Degrees:25% |
| Rank:12 | School Name: - San Luis Obispo_50px.png) California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | School Type:For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$80,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$148,600 | % High Meaning:50% | % STEM Degrees:36% |
| Rank:12 | School Name:_50px.png) University of California-Santa Barbara | School Type:Party School, Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$72,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$148,600 | % High Meaning:48% | % STEM Degrees:31% |
| Rank:14 | School Name:_50px.jpg) University of California-Irvine | School Type:Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$74,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$148,400 | % High Meaning:51% | % STEM Degrees:37% |
| Rank:15 | School Name:_50px.jpg) New Jersey Institute of Technology | School Type:Engineering, Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$78,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$146,500 | % High Meaning:52% | % STEM Degrees:74% |
| Rank:16 | School Name:_50px.png) Virginia Military Institute | School Type:Liberal Arts School, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$78,200 | Mid-Career Pay:$145,300 | % High Meaning:65% | % STEM Degrees:50% |
| Rank:17 | School Name:United States Coast Guard Academy | School Type:Engineering, State School | Early Career Pay:$91,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$144,900 | % High Meaning:- | % STEM Degrees:60% |
| Rank:18 | School Name:_50px.jpg) University of California-Los Angeles | School Type:Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$76,000 | Mid-Career Pay:$144,400 | % High Meaning:50% | % STEM Degrees:34% |
| Rank:19 | School Name:_50px.png) New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology | School Type:Engineering, State School | Early Career Pay:$79,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$144,300 | % High Meaning:56% | % STEM Degrees:90% |
| Rank:20 | School Name:Maine Maritime Academy | School Type:State School | Early Career Pay:$79,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$143,100 | % High Meaning:60% | % STEM Degrees:49% |
| Rank:21 | School Name:_50px.jpg) University of California-Davis | School Type:Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$76,200 | Mid-Career Pay:$142,700 | % High Meaning:52% | % STEM Degrees:36% |
| Rank:22 | School Name:_50px.jpg) Missouri University of Science and Technology | School Type:Engineering, Research University, State School | Early Career Pay:$81,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$141,500 | % High Meaning:52% | % STEM Degrees:79% |
| Rank:23 | School Name:_50px.jpg) University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | School Type:Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$77,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$139,900 | % High Meaning:43% | % STEM Degrees:40% |
| Rank:24 | School Name: Texas A & M University-College Station | School Type:Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$72,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$139,700 | % High Meaning:52% | % STEM Degrees:31% |
| Rank:25 | School Name: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | School Type:Research University, For Sports Fans, State School | Early Career Pay:$80,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$137,500 | % High Meaning:46% | % STEM Degrees:42% |
When students are looking for a college education that won’t break the bank, they often think first of public universities. Payscale has ranked hundreds of public colleges by alumni salaries so that you can research how successful alumni of public colleges and universities are and how much they earn, and apply at the top public colleges with the highest-paid alumni.
Home to roughly 1,500 students, SUNY Maritime is the perfect recipe for high alumni salaries because it has both strong business and engineering programs. As a result, SUNY Maritime graduates enjoy some of the highest median salaries in both the early career salary and mid-career salary categories when we include alumni who only earn a bachelor’s degree.
Military schools top the list for schools with the highest-earning grads in the civilian workforce; the United States Naval Academy (USMA) at Annapolis and United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point. If military grads need another thing to be proud of, they should definitely take pride in their earning potential.
Other military colleges that produce high earners are the United States Air Force Academy and the Virginia Military Academy. It is important to note that we do not include salary data for alumni serving actively in the military, as that is standardized. Students at military colleges get valuable experience as active military members, so it makes sense that they then enter the workforce at higher salary grades than civilian grads.
There are many public colleges and universities with strong engineering programs that rank highly on Payscale’s College Salary Report. The Georgia Institute of Technology is recognized nationally for its excellent engineering programs, and as a result often ranks in the top 10. The University of California at Berkeley produces high earners too, even though it does not focus exclusively on engineering.
Public schools that graduate a large percentage of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) majors tend to have alumni with high earning potential, especially for early career salaries, because graduates with those skills are immediately in high demand in our current economy.