Public colleges where graduates earn over $55K right out of school

To go to college or not to go to college—that's the question facing countless high school seniors as the 2025-2026 school year gets underway. Considering that the average annual cost of attending a public, in-state university has ballooned past $27,100 and nationwide student debt exceeds $1.8 trillion as of August 2025, many prospective undergrads are understandably leery about the price of a college education. In addition to that, the labor market has been upended by artificial intelligence, and it's little wonder that undergraduate enrollment rates continue to lag behind pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

Luckily, not all college grads face these struggles. Plenty of state-funded public colleges feature high job placement rates—at a fraction of the cost of private institutions. Stacker used data from the Payscale Salary Survey to determine which public colleges had alumni that earned the most right after they received their diplomas. Payscale surveyed millions of graduates to determine their median salary in the first five years after graduation. Only graduates from four-year bachelor's degree programs are included in these numbers. University location, undergraduate enrollment size and median salary 10 years after graduation are included to give more context about each school and their long-term impact.

From state flagships to military academies, schools of every size on every coast are setting up their graduates to succeed. Click through to see if you recognize any on the list.

1 / 50

#50. CUNY Bernard M Baruch College

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,100
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $107,600
Undergraduate enrollment: 15,210
Location: New York, NY

2 / 50

#49. George Mason University

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,200
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $106,200
Undergraduate enrollment: 23,817
Location: Fairfax, VA

3 / 50

#48. The College of New Jersey

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,200
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $101,000
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,787
Location: Ewing, NJ

4 / 50

#47. University of Oklahoma-Health Sciences Center

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,200
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $98,300
Undergraduate enrollment: 774
Location: Oklahoma City, OK

5 / 50

#46. University of California-Santa Barbara

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,300
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $121,500
Undergraduate enrollment: 21,574
Location: Santa Barbara, CA

6 / 50

#45. Prairie View A&M University

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,300
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $94,300
Undergraduate enrollment: 7,417
Location: Prairie View, TX

7 / 50

#44. Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,300
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $103,100
Undergraduate enrollment: 41,359
Location: University Park, PA

8 / 50

#43. University of Massachusetts-Lowell

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,400
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $107,300
Undergraduate enrollment: 13,637
Location: Lowell, MA

9 / 50

#42. Medical University of South Carolina

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,600
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $86,000
Undergraduate enrollment: 305
Location: Charleston, SC

10 / 50

#41. University of Connecticut

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,700
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $102,700
Undergraduate enrollment: 19,324
Location: Storrs, CT

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11 / 50

#40. University of California-Irvine

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,700
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $121,800
Undergraduate enrollment: 27,331
Location: Irvine, CA

12 / 50

#39. Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,800
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $111,600
Undergraduate enrollment: 36,168
Location: New Brunswick, NJ

13 / 50

#38. Upstate Medical University

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $57,900
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $89,800
Undergraduate enrollment: 154
Location: Syracuse, NY

14 / 50

#37. University of Washington-Bothell Campus

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $58,200
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $104,100
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,112
Location: Bothell, WA

15 / 50

#36. Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $58,200
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $90,700
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,420
Location: Erie, PA

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16 / 50

#35. University of Alaska Fairbanks

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $58,500
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $97,200
Undergraduate enrollment: 7,162
Location: Fairbanks, AK

17 / 50

#34. Citadel Military College of South Carolina

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $58,800
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $107,200
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,773
Location: Charleston, SC

18 / 50

#33. Binghamton University

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $58,900
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $111,200
Undergraduate enrollment: 13,632
Location: Vestal, NY

19 / 50

#32. Texas A&M University-College Station

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $59,000
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $115,900
Undergraduate enrollment: 50,735
Location: College Station, TX

20 / 50

#31. Bismarck State College

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $61,100
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $102,600
Undergraduate enrollment: 3,976
Location: Bismarck, ND

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21 / 50

#30. San Jose State University

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $61,300
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $112,400
Undergraduate enrollment: 26,432
Location: San Jose, CA

22 / 50

#29. University of California-San Diego

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $61,300
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $126,800
Undergraduate enrollment: 28,127
Location: La Jolla, CA

23 / 50

#28. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $61,300
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $93,200
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,281
Location: Lubbock, TX

24 / 50

#27. Montana Tech of the University of Montana

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $61,900
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $107,200
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,817
Location: Butte, MT

25 / 50

#26. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $62,000
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $107,900
Undergraduate enrollment: 28,983
Location: Ann Arbor, MI

26 / 50

#25. University of Virginia-Main Campus

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $62,300
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $119,900
Undergraduate enrollment: 16,331
Location: Charlottesville, VA

27 / 50

#24. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $62,500
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $121,500
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,569
Location: Socorro, NM

28 / 50

#23. The University of Texas Medical Branch

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $62,600
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $96,700
Undergraduate enrollment: 628
Location: Galveston, TX

29 / 50

#22. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $62,800
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $102,600
Undergraduate enrollment: 12,000
Location: Mayaguez, PR

30 / 50

#21. New Jersey Institute of Technology

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $62,800
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $121,100
Undergraduate enrollment: 8,211
Location: Newark, NJ

31 / 50

#20. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $63,500
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $118,000
Undergraduate enrollment: 20,426
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA

32 / 50

#19. Virginia Military Institute

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $63,900
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $121,600
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,713
Location: Lexington, VA

33 / 50

#18. Michigan Technological University

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $64,600
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $110,200
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,811
Location: Houghton, MI

34 / 50

#17. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $65,800
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $113,700
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,435
Location: Rapid City, SD

35 / 50

#16. United States Coast Guard Academy

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $66,400
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $110,900
Undergraduate enrollment: 986
Location: New London, CT

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36 / 50

#15. Maine Maritime Academy

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $66,700
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $119,900
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,014
Location: Castine, ME

37 / 50

#14. Missouri University of Science and Technology

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $66,700
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $116,400
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,906
Location: Rolla, MO

38 / 50

#13. The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $66,900
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $97,200
Undergraduate enrollment: not available
Location: Houston, TX

39 / 50

#12. SUNY Downstate Medical Center

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $67,100
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $102,100
Undergraduate enrollment: 246
Location: Brooklyn, NY

40 / 50

#11. Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $67,200
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $114,600
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,677
Location: Buzzards Bay, MA

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41 / 50

#10. California State University Maritime Academy

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $67,500
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $129,100
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,107
Location: Vallejo, CA

42 / 50

#9. Oregon Health & Science University

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $67,500
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $96,100
Undergraduate enrollment: 764
Location: Portland, OR

43 / 50

#8. University of California-Berkeley

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $68,300
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $132,300
Undergraduate enrollment: 29,310
Location: Berkeley, CA

44 / 50

#7. Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $70,800
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $131,900
Undergraduate enrollment: 15,489
Location: Atlanta, GA

45 / 50

#6. SUNY Maritime College

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $73,300
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $140,100
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,635
Location: Throggs Neck, NY

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46 / 50

#5. United States Air Force Academy

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $74,000
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $137,300
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,237
Location: USAF Academy, CO

47 / 50

#4. Colorado School of Mines

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $74,100
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $139,300
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,610
Location: Golden, CO

48 / 50

#3. United States Naval Academy

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $78,600
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $149,800
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,528
Location: Annapolis, MD

49 / 50

#2. United States Military Academy

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $79,300
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $141,900
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,389
Location: West Point, NY

50 / 50

#1. United States Merchant Marine Academy

Median salary for alumni 0–5 years from graduation: $80,800
Median salary for alumni 10+ years from graduation: $136,600
Undergraduate enrollment: 904
Location: Kings Point, NY

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