Colleges in West Virginia With the Highest Graduate Earnings
Graduate earnings are bunched together in West Virginia. The 18 four-year colleges we rank range only from $36,699 to $70,107, just $33,408 apart.
The median college sits at $53,513, which is $5,891 (10%) below the national median of $59,403. Public colleges (10) have a median of $50,935 and private nonprofit colleges (5) a median of $54,632, and the typical net price across the list is $13,845.
American Public University System ranks first at $70,107, ahead of University of Charleston ($68,945) and West Virginia University ($64,952).
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 West Virginia
- 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; West Virginia has 18
- 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 18 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | American Public University System Charles Town, WV For-profit · 4-year | $70,107 | $9,597 | $21,743 | 55% | 40,074 |
| 2 | University of Charleston Charleston, WV Private nonprofit · 4-year | $68,945 | $22,107 | $19,500 | 46% | 2,259 |
| 3 | West Virginia University Morgantown, WV Public · 4-year | $64,952 | $15,634 | $22,500 | 63% | 17,385 |
| 4 | Salem University Salem, WV For-profit · 4-year | $62,274 | $12,303 | $24,694 | 24% | 892 |
| 5 | Bluefield State University Bluefield, WV Public · 4-year | $61,729 | $13,684 | $18,250 | 36% | 1,042 |
| 6 | West Virginia Wesleyan College Buckhannon, WV Private nonprofit · 4-year | $55,915 | $18,083 | $27,000 | 53% | 954 |
| 7 | Shepherd University Shepherdstown, WV Public · 4-year | $55,251 | $11,363 | $21,600 | 50% | 2,344 |
| 8 | Wheeling University Wheeling, WV Private nonprofit · 4-year | $54,632 | $20,503 | $25,125 | 27% | 589 |
| 9 | Marshall University Huntington, WV Public · 4-year | $54,141 | $7,502 | $23,250 | 50% | 7,266 |
| 10 | Fairmont State University Fairmont, WV Public · 4-year | $52,884 | $9,032 | $21,000 | 46% | 2,590 |
| 11 | Bethany College (WV) Bethany, WV Private nonprofit · 4-year | $52,582 | $18,605 | $27,000 | 47% | 614 |
| 12 | Davis & Elkins College Elkins, WV Private nonprofit · 4-year | $51,173 | $18,273 | $27,000 | 38% | 661 |
| 13 | West Liberty University West Liberty, WV Public · 4-year | $48,985 | $15,366 | $23,250 | 60% | 1,511 |
| 14 | West Virginia University at Parkersburg Parkersburg, WV Public · 4-year | $47,106 | $1,807 | $12,570 | 20% | 1,868 |
| 15 | Concord University Athens, WV Public · 4-year | $45,035 | $9,966 | $18,900 | 41% | 1,504 |
| 16 | West Virginia State University Institute, WV Public · 4-year | $44,688 | $11,139 | $23,338 | 36% | 1,321 |
| 17 | Glenville State University Glenville, WV Public · 4-year | $42,049 | $14,006 | $25,000 | 35% | 1,096 |
| 18 | West Virginia Junior College-Morgantown Morgantown, WV For-profit · 4-year | $36,699 | $15,520 | $9,881 | 65% | 673 |
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
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Same list in nearby states
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Highest graduate earnings in Virginia
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All 32 colleges in West Virginia See the national version of this ranking