Colleges in Texas With the Highest Graduate Earnings
Median earnings four years after graduation at the 92 four-year colleges we rank in Texas run from $110,100 at the top to $36,187 at the bottom, a spread of $73,913.
The median college sits at $57,559, which is $1,844 (3%) below the national median of $59,403. Public colleges (54) have a median of $57,316 and private nonprofit colleges (36) a median of $58,588, and the typical net price across the list is $14,956.
West Coast University-Texas ranks first at $110,100, ahead of Rice University ($110,080) and Southern Methodist University ($95,051).
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 Texas
- 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; Texas has 92
- 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 92 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | West Coast University-Texas Richardson, TX For-profit · 4-year | $110,100 | $53,020 | $32,946 | 47% | 2,673 |
| 2 | Rice University Houston, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $110,080 | $13,370 | $11,000 | 95% | 4,776 |
| 3 | Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $95,051 | $40,892 | $19,500 | 84% | 7,277 |
| 4 | The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX Public · 4-year | $79,176 | $13,951 | $17,527 | 55% | 32,294 |
| 5 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Public · 4-year | $79,115 | $19,857 | $20,500 | 88% | 42,855 |
| 6 | The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX Public · 4-year | $76,497 | $18,267 | $18,000 | 75% | 21,751 |
| 7 | Texas A&M University-College Station College Station, TX Public · 4-year | $76,234 | $21,315 | $17,804 | 84% | 59,615 |
| 8 | Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $76,188 | $36,660 | $21,500 | 86% | 11,026 |
| 9 | Baylor University Waco, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $69,608 | $41,104 | $23,000 | 80% | 14,785 |
| 10 | The University of Texas at Tyler Tyler, TX Public · 4-year | $68,633 | $13,323 | $17,137 | 51% | 7,440 |
| 11 | University of Houston Houston, TX Public · 4-year | $68,091 | $14,276 | $18,194 | 65% | 38,380 |
| 12 | Trinity University San Antonio, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $67,249 | $23,464 | $22,954 | 83% | 2,505 |
| 13 | Lamar University Beaumont, TX Public · 4-year | $66,816 | $9,366 | $21,250 | 37% | 8,150 |
| 14 | Alvin Community College Alvin, TX Public · 4-year | $66,597 | $8,525 | $4,519 | 24% | 3,342 |
| 15 | Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX Public · 4-year | $66,144 | $19,070 | $21,500 | 68% | 32,394 |
| 16 | University of St Thomas (TX) Houston, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $66,137 | $19,359 | $19,928 | 69% | 3,220 |
| 17 | LeTourneau University Longview, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $65,664 | $28,185 | $26,000 | 60% | 1,468 |
| 18 | Concordia University Texas Austin, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $64,701 | $23,131 | $21,852 | 42% | 1,185 |
| 19 | Texas Woman's University Denton, TX Public · 4-year | $64,179 | $11,963 | $19,218 | 47% | 8,767 |
| 20 | The University of Texas Permian Basin Odessa, TX Public · 4-year | $63,864 | $12,723 | $17,750 | 42% | 3,911 |
| 21 | University of the Incarnate Word San Antonio, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $63,004 | $22,775 | $27,000 | 51% | 4,440 |
| 22 | University of North Texas at Dallas Dallas, TX Public · 4-year | $62,574 | $6,420 | $18,606 | 43% | 2,878 |
| 23 | Houston Christian University Houston, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $62,310 | $20,629 | $22,642 | 49% | 2,886 |
| 24 | Midwestern State University Wichita Falls, TX Public · 4-year | $62,250 | $11,656 | $21,030 | 42% | 4,087 |
| 25 | University of Dallas Irving, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $61,870 | $22,610 | $23,117 | 70% | 1,403 |
| 26 | University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Belton, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $61,024 | $26,106 | $26,000 | 51% | 2,759 |
| 27 | Prairie View A & M University Prairie View, TX Public · 4-year | $60,602 | $13,570 | $27,000 | 43% | 8,877 |
| 28 | University of Houston-Downtown Houston, TX Public · 4-year | $60,550 | $10,542 | $18,750 | 33% | 12,555 |
| 29 | The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX Public · 4-year | $60,333 | $10,836 | $20,500 | 52% | 30,580 |
| 30 | Saint Edward's University Austin, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $59,999 | $25,578 | $24,803 | 63% | 2,493 |
| 31 | Southwestern University Georgetown, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $59,994 | $29,224 | $25,000 | 71% | 1,440 |
| 32 | University of Houston-Clear Lake Houston, TX Public · 4-year | $59,865 | $15,563 | $17,831 | 51% | 6,078 |
| 33 | Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi Corpus Christi, TX Public · 4-year | $59,765 | $15,225 | $23,000 | 37% | 8,034 |
| 34 | Weatherford College Weatherford, TX Public · 4-year | $59,564 | $9,967 | $9,948 | 28% | 5,094 |
| 35 | Hallmark University San Antonio, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $59,410 | $12,513 | $25,438 | 67% | 769 |
| 36 | Dallas Baptist University Dallas, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $59,308 | $28,516 | $21,591 | 59% | 2,403 |
| 37 | Abilene Christian University Abilene, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $59,305 | $26,182 | $24,250 | 60% | 3,195 |
| 38 | Texas State University San Marcos, TX Public · 4-year | $58,786 | $16,805 | $21,000 | 56% | 36,177 |
| 39 | The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX Public · 4-year | $58,771 | $9,403 | $18,000 | 48% | 21,005 |
| 40 | University of North Texas Denton, TX Public · 4-year | $58,743 | $15,649 | $19,250 | 60% | 34,341 |
| 41 | Schreiner University Kerrville, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $58,631 | $21,507 | $23,250 | 43% | 1,053 |
| 42 | St. Mary's University San Antonio, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $58,545 | $21,145 | $25,563 | 60% | 1,951 |
| 43 | College of the Mainland Texas City, TX Public · 4-year | $58,013 | $1,342 | $5,960 | 30% | 3,368 |
| 44 | Tarleton State University Stephenville, TX Public · 4-year | $57,758 | $20,783 | $19,606 | 50% | 12,673 |
| 45 | Texas Wesleyan University Fort Worth, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,671 | $24,066 | $23,125 | 32% | 1,741 |
| 46 | Austin Community College District Austin, TX Public · 4-year | $57,624 | $6,390 | $10,499 | 19% | 30,189 |
| 47 | East Texas A&M University Commerce, TX Public · 4-year | $57,494 | $11,841 | $20,500 | 44% | 9,912 |
| 48 | Texas A&M University-Victoria Victoria, TX Public · 4-year | $57,364 | $8,109 | $18,973 | 26% | 2,513 |
| 49 | Austin College Sherman, TX Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,361 | $21,107 | $24,500 | 68% | 1,165 |
| 50 | Texas A&M University-Central Texas Killeen, TX Public · 4-year | $57,267 | $1,300 | $17,750 | — | 1,750 |
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 Texas
Cheapest colleges in Texas
73 schools
Cheap colleges in Texas for out-of-state students
77 schools
Community colleges in Texas
42 schools
Best value colleges in Texas
54 schools
Most affordable private colleges in Texas
38 schools
Same list in nearby states
Highest graduate earnings in Oklahoma
26 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Louisiana
22 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Arkansas
15 schools
All 147 colleges in Texas See the national version of this ranking