Colleges in Maryland With the Highest Graduate Earnings
Median earnings four years after graduation at the 22 four-year colleges we rank in Maryland run from $117,419 at the top to $42,353 at the bottom, a spread of $75,066.
The median college sits at $65,338, which is $5,935 (10%) above the national median of $59,403. Public colleges (12) have a median of $64,213 and private nonprofit colleges (10) a median of $66,354, and the typical net price across the list is $18,989.
Johns Hopkins University ranks first at $117,419, ahead of University of Maryland Global Campus ($87,025) and University of Maryland-College Park ($84,365).
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 Maryland
- 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; Maryland 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.
Showing all 22 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year | $117,419 | $18,809 | $10,250 | 94% | 5,693 |
| 2 | University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD Public · 4-year | $87,025 | $22,063 | $21,000 | 31% | 49,664 |
| 3 | University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD Public · 4-year | $84,365 | $15,678 | $19,000 | 89% | 30,760 |
| 4 | Loyola University Maryland Baltimore, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year | $81,772 | $30,574 | $27,000 | 80% | 3,869 |
| 5 | Notre Dame of Maryland University Baltimore, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year | $75,732 | $19,169 | $22,666 | 51% | 709 |
| 6 | University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD Public · 4-year | $74,396 | $16,467 | $19,500 | 70% | 10,701 |
| 7 | Hood College Frederick, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year | $70,173 | $20,873 | $25,000 | 56% | 1,194 |
| 8 | University of Baltimore Baltimore, MD Public · 4-year | $67,949 | $13,868 | $23,250 | 43% | 1,133 |
| 9 | Stevenson University Owings Mills, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year | $66,853 | $26,505 | $26,000 | 67% | 3,102 |
| 10 | McDaniel College Westminster, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year | $65,855 | $21,916 | $25,000 | 64% | 1,617 |
| 11 | Towson University Towson, MD Public · 4-year | $65,610 | $17,413 | $18,718 | 69% | 16,136 |
| 12 | Bowie State University Bowie, MD Public · 4-year | $65,066 | $19,298 | $22,985 | 38% | 5,043 |
| 13 | Mount St. Mary's University Emmitsburg, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year | $64,424 | $22,655 | $25,391 | 62% | 1,768 |
| 14 | Coppin State University Baltimore, MD Public · 4-year | $63,359 | $9,977 | $25,000 | 26% | 1,844 |
| 15 | Morgan State University Baltimore, MD Public · 4-year | $62,308 | $14,985 | $27,250 | 41% | 9,019 |
| 16 | Salisbury University Salisbury, MD Public · 4-year | $61,985 | $17,743 | $21,000 | 68% | 6,057 |
| 17 | St. Mary's College of Maryland St. Mary's City, MD Public · 4-year | $60,029 | $18,441 | $21,000 | 69% | 1,603 |
| 18 | Washington College Chestertown, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year | $58,768 | $27,898 | $26,956 | 70% | 891 |
| 19 | Frostburg State University Frostburg, MD Public · 4-year | $58,511 | $16,715 | $21,105 | 51% | 2,909 |
| 20 | Goucher College Baltimore, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,036 | $22,470 | $26,000 | 59% | 964 |
| 21 | University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne, MD Public · 4-year | $55,733 | $13,338 | $27,000 | 35% | 2,391 |
| 22 | Maryland Institute College of Art Baltimore, MD Private nonprofit · 4-year | $42,353 | $42,729 | $26,500 | 72% | 1,189 |
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 Maryland
Cheapest colleges in Maryland
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Cheap colleges in Maryland for out-of-state students
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Community colleges in Maryland
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Best value colleges in Maryland
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Same list in nearby states
Highest graduate earnings in Pennsylvania
85 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Virginia
40 schools
Highest graduate earnings in West Virginia
18 schools
All 44 colleges in Maryland See the national version of this ranking