Colleges in Wisconsin With the Highest Graduate Earnings
Median earnings four years after graduation at the 31 four-year colleges we rank in Wisconsin run from $90,607 at the top to $42,304 at the bottom, a spread of $48,303.
The median college sits at $59,751, within a few percent of the national median of $59,403. Public colleges (13) have a median of $59,730 and private nonprofit colleges (18) a median of $61,556, and the typical net price across the list is $20,216.
Milwaukee School of Engineering ranks first at $90,607, ahead of Marquette University ($80,228) and University of Wisconsin-Madison ($78,974).
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 Wisconsin
- 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; Wisconsin has 31
- 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 31 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $90,607 | $22,453 | $27,000 | 69% | 2,654 |
| 2 | Marquette University Milwaukee, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $80,228 | $31,487 | $23,940 | 82% | 7,660 |
| 3 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI Public · 4-year | $78,974 | $17,354 | $20,484 | 89% | 36,902 |
| 4 | University of Wisconsin-Platteville Platteville, WI Public · 4-year | $70,899 | $16,032 | $21,977 | 58% | 5,837 |
| 5 | Viterbo University La Crosse, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $69,675 | $21,260 | $25,000 | 67% | 1,249 |
| 6 | Edgewood University Madison, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $68,625 | $26,113 | $24,424 | 64% | 1,107 |
| 7 | Alverno College Milwaukee, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $67,760 | $22,540 | $27,000 | 50% | 631 |
| 8 | Lakeland University Plymouth, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $66,716 | $24,212 | $25,000 | 48% | 1,212 |
| 9 | Carroll University Waukesha, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $66,639 | $15,193 | $27,000 | 70% | 2,523 |
| 10 | Marian University (WI) Fond Du Lac, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $65,859 | $21,937 | $25,000 | 43% | 1,010 |
| 11 | University of Wisconsin-Stout Menomonie, WI Public · 4-year | $64,234 | $17,490 | $23,000 | 54% | 5,842 |
| 12 | Concordia University-Wisconsin Mequon, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $63,361 | $36,201 | $25,750 | 66% | 2,197 |
| 13 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI Public · 4-year | $62,480 | $15,014 | $23,000 | 50% | 16,758 |
| 14 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI Public · 4-year | $60,838 | $16,550 | $20,909 | 66% | 8,895 |
| 15 | University of Wisconsin-La Crosse La Crosse, WI Public · 4-year | $60,184 | $16,210 | $22,500 | 71% | 9,277 |
| 16 | Carthage College Kenosha, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $59,751 | $26,565 | $26,000 | 62% | 2,660 |
| 17 | University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI Public · 4-year | $59,730 | $14,305 | $21,500 | 51% | 6,877 |
| 18 | Saint Norbert College De Pere, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $58,944 | $26,172 | $26,731 | 72% | 1,662 |
| 19 | University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI Public · 4-year | $58,704 | $14,158 | $23,188 | 62% | 9,405 |
| 20 | Wisconsin Lutheran College Milwaukee, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,728 | $23,245 | $26,000 | 63% | 943 |
| 21 | University of Wisconsin-Parkside Kenosha, WI Public · 4-year | $55,184 | $11,772 | $20,492 | 40% | 2,844 |
| 22 | University of Wisconsin-River Falls River Falls, WI Public · 4-year | $54,923 | $14,054 | $20,500 | 59% | 4,205 |
| 23 | Mount Mary University Milwaukee, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $54,418 | $20,144 | $25,288 | 50% | 631 |
| 24 | University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Green Bay, WI Public · 4-year | $54,344 | $13,369 | $18,500 | 50% | 6,341 |
| 25 | University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI Public · 4-year | $51,548 | $14,559 | $21,503 | 53% | 7,306 |
| 26 | Lawrence University Appleton, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $51,503 | $23,401 | $26,000 | 77% | 1,396 |
| 27 | Ripon College Ripon, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $50,210 | $20,216 | $27,000 | 62% | 688 |
| 28 | University of Wisconsin-Superior Superior, WI Public · 4-year | $50,018 | $12,220 | $22,500 | 43% | 1,807 |
| 29 | Maranatha Baptist University Watertown, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $49,529 | $26,005 | $14,143 | 65% | 541 |
| 30 | Beloit College Beloit, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $48,801 | $21,526 | $25,738 | 69% | 926 |
| 31 | Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design Milwaukee, WI Private nonprofit · 4-year | $42,304 | $26,541 | $27,000 | 65% | 837 |
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 Wisconsin
Cheapest colleges in Wisconsin
31 schools
Best value colleges in Wisconsin
31 schools
Most affordable private colleges in Wisconsin
18 schools
Same list in nearby states
Highest graduate earnings in Illinois
50 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Michigan
41 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Minnesota
36 schools
All 36 colleges in Wisconsin See the national version of this ranking