Colleges in Massachusetts With the Highest Graduate Earnings
Median earnings four years after graduation at the 61 four-year colleges we rank in Massachusetts run from $161,961 at the top to $36,500 at the bottom, a spread of $125,461.
The median college sits at $69,414, which is $10,011 (17%) above the national median of $59,403. Public colleges (14) have a median of $63,203 and private nonprofit colleges (47) a median of $72,449, and the typical net price across the list is $27,477.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranks first at $161,961, ahead of Harvard University ($134,794) and Babson College ($117,794).
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 Massachusetts
- 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; Massachusetts has 61
- 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 the top 50 of 61 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $161,961 | $20,111 | $14,768 | 96% | 4,535 |
| 2 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $134,794 | $19,066 | $14,000 | 97% | 7,601 |
| 3 | Babson College Wellesley, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $117,794 | $40,514 | $20,000 | 93% | 2,728 |
| 4 | Bentley University Waltham, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $108,577 | $37,930 | $25,023 | 88% | 4,474 |
| 5 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $105,724 | $43,071 | $27,000 | 89% | 5,447 |
| 6 | Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buzzards Bay, MA Public · 4-year | $103,680 | $21,582 | $25,000 | 77% | 1,395 |
| 7 | Northeastern University Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $101,903 | $30,915 | $24,250 | 90% | 17,326 |
| 8 | Tufts University Medford, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $97,474 | $39,998 | $16,250 | 93% | 7,061 |
| 9 | Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $96,145 | $41,704 | $19,000 | 91% | 10,085 |
| 10 | Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $95,027 | $34,170 | $25,028 | 68% | 3,747 |
| 11 | Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $93,192 | $39,545 | $25,000 | 63% | 3,451 |
| 12 | Laboure College of Healthcare Milton, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $90,473 | $36,863 | $25,250 | — | 525 |
| 13 | Regis College Weston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $84,660 | $27,477 | $25,500 | 71% | 956 |
| 14 | College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $84,553 | $38,782 | $27,000 | 88% | 3,106 |
| 15 | Boston University Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $83,615 | $24,402 | $23,250 | 89% | 18,248 |
| 16 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA Public · 4-year | $81,163 | $17,163 | $23,704 | 67% | 11,434 |
| 17 | Williams College Williamstown, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $80,487 | $17,716 | $12,761 | 95% | 2,076 |
| 18 | Amherst College Amherst, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $79,243 | $23,367 | $13,740 | 94% | 1,911 |
| 19 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA Public · 4-year | $78,620 | $22,383 | $22,763 | 83% | 23,671 |
| 20 | Western New England University Springfield, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $76,928 | $27,290 | $25,500 | 64% | 2,603 |
| 21 | Brandeis University Waltham, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $76,742 | $35,736 | $25,648 | 86% | 3,618 |
| 22 | Hult International Business School Cambridge, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $75,197 | $45,447 | — | 66% | 618 |
| 23 | Suffolk University Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $74,456 | $29,618 | $26,889 | 60% | 4,268 |
| 24 | Anna Maria College Paxton, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $74,347 | $28,333 | $25,000 | 44% | 906 |
| 25 | Simmons University Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $73,823 | $25,265 | $24,840 | 72% | 1,670 |
| 26 | Stonehill College Easton, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $73,137 | $33,016 | $25,000 | 78% | 2,528 |
| 27 | Wellesley College Wellesley, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $72,449 | $25,496 | $10,000 | 91% | 2,300 |
| 28 | Curry College Milton, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $72,447 | $29,207 | $25,000 | 50% | 1,780 |
| 29 | American International College Springfield, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $71,565 | $23,274 | $27,000 | 44% | 1,017 |
| 30 | University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA Public · 4-year | $69,532 | $17,707 | $21,974 | 50% | 11,512 |
| 31 | Endicott College Beverly, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $69,414 | $40,654 | $27,000 | 76% | 3,125 |
| 32 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA Public · 4-year | $69,251 | $20,927 | $25,000 | 51% | 5,221 |
| 33 | Assumption University Worcester, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $67,745 | $29,498 | $27,000 | 75% | 1,669 |
| 34 | Merrimack College North Andover, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $65,506 | $37,927 | $27,000 | 71% | 3,916 |
| 35 | Nichols College Dudley, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $64,532 | $33,036 | $27,000 | 63% | 1,163 |
| 36 | College of Our Lady of the Elms Chicopee, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $64,421 | $17,545 | $25,000 | 66% | 949 |
| 37 | Fitchburg State University Fitchburg, MA Public · 4-year | $63,994 | $14,262 | $24,239 | 54% | 2,752 |
| 38 | Clark University Worcester, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $63,965 | $28,714 | $26,759 | 77% | 2,214 |
| 39 | Worcester State University Worcester, MA Public · 4-year | $63,801 | $13,381 | $19,500 | 58% | 3,930 |
| 40 | Emmanuel College Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $63,280 | $26,706 | $27,000 | 67% | 1,854 |
| 41 | Bay Path University Longmeadow, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $62,912 | $14,271 | $24,901 | 51% | 1,108 |
| 42 | Salem State University Salem, MA Public · 4-year | $62,605 | $15,996 | $25,000 | 52% | 4,291 |
| 43 | Cambridge College Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $61,712 | $31,072 | $21,791 | — | 532 |
| 44 | Framingham State University Framingham, MA Public · 4-year | $61,569 | $16,114 | $25,000 | 49% | 2,566 |
| 45 | Springfield College Springfield, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $60,428 | $30,587 | $26,250 | 71% | 1,751 |
| 46 | Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA Public · 4-year | $59,669 | $16,383 | $24,286 | 54% | 7,829 |
| 47 | Westfield State University Westfield, MA Public · 4-year | $59,434 | $16,721 | $22,457 | 55% | 3,615 |
| 48 | Quincy College Quincy, MA Public · 4-year | $59,190 | $17,126 | $13,874 | 16% | 2,300 |
| 49 | Lasell University Newton, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $58,411 | $27,511 | $26,000 | 56% | 1,226 |
| 50 | Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Norton, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,982 | $29,822 | $26,000 | 74% | 1,773 |
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 Massachusetts
Cheapest colleges in Massachusetts
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Cheap colleges in Massachusetts for out-of-state students
29 schools
Community colleges in Massachusetts
16 schools
Best value colleges in Massachusetts
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Most affordable private colleges in Massachusetts
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Same list in nearby states
Highest graduate earnings in New York
124 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Connecticut
20 schools
Highest graduate earnings in California
108 schools
All 84 colleges in Massachusetts See the national version of this ranking