Colleges in Maine With the Highest Graduate Earnings
Median earnings four years after graduation at the 15 four-year colleges we rank in Maine run from $113,298 at the top to $44,430 at the bottom, a spread of $68,868.
The median college sits at $63,056, which is $3,653 (6%) above the national median of $59,403. Public colleges (7) have a median of $60,816 and private nonprofit colleges (8) a median of $70,655, and the typical net price across the list is $17,510.
Maine Maritime Academy ranks first at $113,298, ahead of Bowdoin College ($79,722) and Colby College ($77,429).
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 Maine
- 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; Maine has 15
- 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.
Showing all 15 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Maine Maritime Academy Castine, ME Public · 4-year | $113,298 | $23,414 | $27,000 | 60% | 942 |
| 2 | Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year | $79,722 | $14,398 | $18,500 | 95% | 1,873 |
| 3 | Colby College Waterville, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year | $77,429 | $17,180 | $19,157 | 89% | 2,407 |
| 4 | University of Maine at Fort Kent Fort Kent, ME Public · 4-year | $74,979 | $7,482 | $20,160 | 40% | 599 |
| 5 | Saint Joseph's College of Maine Standish, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year | $73,164 | $27,555 | $27,000 | 67% | 964 |
| 6 | University of New England Biddeford, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year | $71,281 | $38,107 | $25,250 | 65% | 2,135 |
| 7 | Bates College Lewiston, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year | $70,028 | $29,351 | $14,275 | 90% | 1,760 |
| 8 | University of Maine Orono, ME Public · 4-year | $63,056 | $17,510 | $25,000 | 56% | 8,496 |
| 9 | Husson University Bangor, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year | $62,950 | $21,005 | $27,000 | 58% | 2,618 |
| 10 | University of Southern Maine Portland, ME Public · 4-year | $60,816 | $13,596 | $19,060 | 43% | 4,222 |
| 11 | Thomas College Waterville, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year | $54,264 | $18,885 | $24,250 | 53% | 647 |
| 12 | University of Maine at Augusta Augusta, ME Public · 4-year | $51,475 | $10,924 | $22,734 | 25% | 2,659 |
| 13 | University of Maine at Presque Isle Presque Isle, ME Public · 4-year | $48,577 | $7,035 | $16,000 | 45% | 1,913 |
| 14 | Unity Environmental University New Gloucester, ME Private nonprofit · 4-year | $45,016 | $19,104 | $25,000 | 44% | 6,483 |
| 15 | University of Maine at Farmington Farmington, ME Public · 4-year | $44,430 | $16,857 | $24,499 | 52% | 1,140 |
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 Maine
Same list in nearby states
Highest graduate earnings in New York
124 schools
Highest graduate earnings in California
108 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Texas
92 schools
All 25 colleges in Maine See the national version of this ranking