Colleges in Pennsylvania With the Highest Graduate Earnings
Median earnings four years after graduation at the 85 four-year colleges we rank in Pennsylvania run from $132,971 at the top to $42,582 at the bottom, a spread of $90,389.
The median college sits at $64,804, which is $5,401 (9%) above the national median of $59,403. Public colleges (15) have a median of $57,515 and private nonprofit colleges (70) a median of $65,558, and the typical net price across the list is $25,314.
Carnegie Mellon University ranks first at $132,971, ahead of University of Pennsylvania ($124,586) and Villanova University ($104,228).
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 Pennsylvania
- 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; Pennsylvania has 85
- 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 85 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $132,971 | $31,944 | $21,750 | 93% | 7,304 |
| 2 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $124,586 | $28,699 | $15,715 | 97% | 10,650 |
| 3 | Villanova University Villanova, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $104,228 | $43,756 | $25,874 | 92% | 6,938 |
| 4 | Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $101,748 | $36,931 | $21,960 | 89% | 5,898 |
| 5 | Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $96,035 | $40,766 | $27,000 | 86% | 3,876 |
| 6 | Lafayette College Easton, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $91,758 | $34,433 | $16,000 | 88% | 2,757 |
| 7 | Drexel University Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $91,041 | $38,509 | $25,325 | 78% | 13,233 |
| 8 | Gwynedd Mercy University Gwynedd Valley, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $89,170 | $27,483 | $25,000 | 58% | 1,067 |
| 9 | Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $87,195 | $28,928 | $14,744 | 68% | 3,755 |
| 10 | Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $84,010 | $29,689 | $25,500 | 79% | 4,948 |
| 11 | Holy Family University Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $82,892 | $13,143 | $25,125 | 61% | 2,464 |
| 12 | Widener University Chester, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $80,946 | $25,759 | $27,000 | 66% | 2,951 |
| 13 | University of Scranton Scranton, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $79,409 | $32,568 | $27,000 | 80% | 3,554 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA Public · 4-year | $76,659 | $32,875 | $25,000 | 86% | 42,284 |
| 15 | Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $74,665 | $37,730 | $26,244 | 77% | 5,350 |
| 16 | Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $74,391 | $36,425 | $19,000 | 85% | 1,799 |
| 17 | DeSales University Center Valley, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $74,078 | $31,643 | $25,788 | 72% | 2,128 |
| 18 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA Public · 4-year | $73,701 | $30,434 | $24,250 | 85% | 20,370 |
| 19 | Saint Francis University Loretto, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $73,068 | $23,526 | $27,000 | 74% | 1,557 |
| 20 | Immaculata University Immaculata, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $72,836 | $24,258 | $27,000 | 68% | 1,320 |
| 21 | Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $72,658 | $31,490 | $26,999 | 83% | 2,099 |
| 22 | Neumann University Aston, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $72,633 | $27,804 | $27,000 | 50% | 1,533 |
| 23 | Robert Morris University Moon Township, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $70,755 | $23,003 | $26,950 | 66% | 2,896 |
| 24 | La Salle University Philadelphia, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $70,254 | $19,409 | $25,000 | 58% | 1,953 |
| 25 | Misericordia University Dallas, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $69,973 | $37,485 | $26,973 | 70% | 1,672 |
| 26 | Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $69,197 | $27,743 | $26,000 | 62% | 1,985 |
| 27 | Cedar Crest College Allentown, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $67,546 | $18,659 | $27,000 | 59% | 834 |
| 28 | Carlow University Pittsburgh, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $67,381 | $20,786 | $25,500 | 58% | 1,348 |
| 29 | Alvernia University Reading, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $67,275 | $28,138 | $27,000 | 57% | 2,152 |
| 30 | Temple University Philadelphia, PA Public · 4-year | $67,232 | $28,198 | $24,395 | 75% | 20,970 |
| 31 | Dickinson College Carlisle, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $67,139 | $37,607 | $19,000 | 82% | 2,273 |
| 32 | King's College Wilkes-Barre, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $67,122 | $23,093 | $27,000 | 60% | 1,484 |
| 33 | Moravian University Bethlehem, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $67,097 | $30,670 | $26,793 | 71% | 1,949 |
| 34 | Pennsylvania College of Technology Williamsport, PA Public · 4-year | $66,316 | $25,110 | $23,961 | 52% | 4,464 |
| 35 | Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $66,236 | $26,598 | $27,000 | 77% | 1,868 |
| 36 | Washington & Jefferson College Washington, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $66,045 | $25,002 | $27,000 | 70% | 1,295 |
| 37 | York College of Pennsylvania York, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $65,789 | $18,556 | $26,000 | 62% | 3,265 |
| 38 | Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $65,650 | $28,905 | $25,455 | 81% | 1,727 |
| 39 | Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $65,618 | $23,149 | $17,500 | 93% | 1,613 |
| 40 | Gannon University Erie, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $65,497 | $22,553 | $27,000 | 68% | 2,365 |
| 41 | Chatham University Pittsburgh, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $65,078 | $29,954 | $23,250 | 65% | 1,232 |
| 42 | Ursinus College Collegeville, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $65,033 | $30,536 | $27,000 | 75% | 1,491 |
| 43 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA Public · 4-year | $64,804 | $23,331 | $23,500 | 70% | 14,164 |
| 44 | Haverford College Haverford, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $64,523 | $25,314 | $13,621 | 90% | 1,430 |
| 45 | Lebanon Valley College Annville, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $63,570 | $26,979 | $27,000 | 69% | 1,684 |
| 46 | Mount Aloysius College Cresson, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $62,211 | $22,344 | $24,287 | 56% | 1,094 |
| 47 | Marywood University Scranton, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $60,125 | $23,388 | $26,186 | 72% | 1,784 |
| 48 | Arcadia University Glenside, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $60,044 | $29,466 | $27,000 | 65% | 1,948 |
| 49 | Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA Public · 4-year | $59,882 | $23,726 | $25,000 | 54% | 4,086 |
| 50 | Waynesburg University Waynesburg, PA Private nonprofit · 4-year | $59,019 | $18,235 | $27,000 | 63% | 1,009 |
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 Pennsylvania
Cheapest colleges in Pennsylvania
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Cheap colleges in Pennsylvania for out-of-state students
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Community colleges in Pennsylvania
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Best value colleges in Pennsylvania
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Most affordable private colleges in Pennsylvania
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Same list in nearby states
Highest graduate earnings in New York
124 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Ohio
64 schools
Highest graduate earnings in New Jersey
26 schools
All 147 colleges in Pennsylvania See the national version of this ranking