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Colleges in Louisiana With the Highest Graduate Earnings

Graduate earnings are bunched together in Louisiana. The 22 four-year colleges we rank range only from $47,043 to $73,816, just $26,773 apart.

The median college sits at $53,639, which is $5,764 (10%) below the national median of $59,403. Private nonprofit colleges (8) have a median of $53,160 and public colleges (14) a median of $53,639, and the typical net price across the list is $13,568.

Tulane University of Louisiana ranks first at $73,816, ahead of Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College ($66,893) and Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University ($63,699).

How this list is built

A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.

Colleges considered
All 4-year colleges (public, private nonprofit and for-profit)
Ranked by earnings after 4 years, highest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
  • Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
  • Main campus located in Louisiana
  • At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
  • A reported earnings after 4 years value (schools without one are not ranked)
  • This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Louisiana has 22
Data period
  • Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
  • Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
  • Graduate debt: median federal loan debt of completers, pooled 2020 and 2021 cohorts.
  • Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
  • Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.

Read the full methodology

Showing all 22 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.

Table: Colleges in Louisiana With the Highest Graduate Earnings
1 Tulane University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 $73,816$39,949$20,50088%7,767
2 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Baton Rouge, LA
Public · 4-year
 $66,893$19,151$20,50070%30,594
3 Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University
Baton Rouge, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 $63,699$18,552$27,67249%821
4 Louisiana Tech University
Ruston, LA
Public · 4-year
 $61,520$11,864$22,13561%8,312
5 New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
New Orleans, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 $59,131$10,829—51%865
6 University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Lafayette, LA
Public · 4-year
 $58,638$13,530$22,90252%12,428
7 Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Natchitoches, LA
Public · 4-year
 $56,762$13,606$25,00044%5,519
8 University of New Orleans
New Orleans, LA
Public · 4-year
 $56,037$12,384$18,75040%4,638
9 Southern University and A & M College
Baton Rouge, LA
Public · 4-year
 $54,666$20,077$29,25128%5,519
10 Louisiana Christian University
Pineville, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 $53,861$13,113$21,87542%672
11 University of Louisiana at Monroe
Monroe, LA
Public · 4-year
 $53,715$13,466$21,50052%5,022
12 McNeese State University
Lake Charles, LA
Public · 4-year
 $53,563$12,493$23,00049%5,005
13 Loyola University New Orleans
New Orleans, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 $52,459$23,696$26,00063%2,812
14 Louisiana State University at Alexandria
Alexandria, LA
Public · 4-year
 $51,983$7,065$19,00035%5,632
15 Nicholls State University
Thibodaux, LA
Public · 4-year
 $51,767$12,947$22,67554%4,737
16 Louisiana State University-Shreveport
Shreveport, LA
Public · 4-year
 $51,673$7,022$22,50035%2,153
17 Southeastern Louisiana University
Hammond, LA
Public · 4-year
 $50,215$13,154$22,11345%9,514
18 Centenary College of Louisiana
Shreveport, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 $49,479$23,624$27,00058%685
19 Xavier University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 $49,328$17,127$24,05349%2,628
20 Dillard University
New Orleans, LA
Private nonprofit · 4-year
 $48,421$22,094$31,00044%1,063
21 Southern University at New Orleans
New Orleans, LA
Public · 4-year
 $47,240$14,810$31,00016%1,055
22 Grambling State University
Grambling, LA
Public · 4-year
 $47,043$19,809$36,50034%4,164

How to compare these colleges

High earnings partly reflect who enrolls and what they study: engineering, nursing and business programs usually pay more than education or the arts, so a school with strong health or technical programs can top the list. Read the earnings next to net price, debt and graduation rate, because earnings count only people who finished, and four years after graduation is early in a career.

Guides worth reading first

More lists for Louisiana

Same list in nearby states

All 31 colleges in Louisiana See the national version of this ranking