Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in the Great Lakes
Question 1
Where are you right now?
Why we ask: a laid-off week and a thinking-about-a-move week look nothing alike. No résumé, no account.
Key facts
- #1 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, IN: $101k
- #2 University of Notre Dame, IN: $100k
- #3 Kettering University, MI: $95k
- 100 colleges ranked across the Great Lakes
- Data as of November 2026
For comparison: $50k across the typical college in this list.
- 1Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology IN$101k
- 2University of Notre Dame IN$100k
- 3Kettering University MI$95k
- 4Chamberlain University-Illinois IL$92k
- 5Chamberlain University-Michigan MI$92k
- 6University of Chicago IL$92k
- 7Northwestern University IL$89k
- 8Milwaukee School of Engineering WI$89k
- 9Case Western Reserve University OH$88k
- 10University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI$84k
What stands out
- The top ten is tightly packed: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology leads on $101k, and #10 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is at $84k.
- Chamberlain University-Michigan reaches #5 on a sample of 629 students enrolled, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is the largest market in the top ten, with 34,177 students enrolled behind its figure.
- Colleges with fewer than 500 students enrolled are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.
Why this ranking matters
What it shows
Median earnings ten years after enrolling show what former students of a college go on to earn, as the Department of Education publishes it.
How to use it
Compare colleges within the same level and field, and read earnings next to completion rate and net price. Earnings reflect who enrolls and what they study as much as the college.
The top 25
- 1
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology IN
$101k
- Completion rate
- 78%
- Net price a year
- $42,513
- Private nonprofit
- 2,309 students
Based on 2,309 students enrolled.
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 2
University of Notre Dame IN
$100k
- Completion rate
- 95%
- Net price a year
- $26,780
- Private nonprofit
- 8,818 students
Based on 8,818 students enrolled.
University of Notre Dame: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 3
Kettering University MI
$95k
- Completion rate
- 71%
- Net price a year
- $34,660
- Private nonprofit
- 1,205 students
Based on 1,205 students enrolled.
- 4
Chamberlain University-Illinois IL
$92k
- Completion rate
- 42%
- Net price a year
- $31,837
- Private for-profit
- 14,027 students
Based on 14,027 students enrolled.
Chamberlain University-Illinois: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 5
Chamberlain University-Michigan MI
$92k
- Completion rate
- 100%
- Net price a year
- $28,045
- Private for-profit
- 629 students
Based on 629 students enrolled.
Chamberlain University-Michigan: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 6
University of Chicago IL
$92k
- Completion rate
- 96%
- Net price a year
- $14,860
- Private nonprofit
- 7,569 students
Based on 7,569 students enrolled.
- 7
Northwestern University IL
$89k
- Completion rate
- 95%
- Net price a year
- $29,167
- Private nonprofit
- 9,201 students
Based on 9,201 students enrolled.
- 8
Milwaukee School of Engineering WI
$89k
- Completion rate
- 67%
- Net price a year
- $22,453
- Private nonprofit
- 2,654 students
Based on 2,654 students enrolled.
Milwaukee School of Engineering: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 9
Case Western Reserve University OH
$88k
- Completion rate
- 87%
- Net price a year
- $41,190
- Private nonprofit
- 6,437 students
Based on 6,437 students enrolled.
Case Western Reserve University: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 10
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI
$84k
- Completion rate
- 93%
- Net price a year
- $13,138
- Public
- 34,177 students
Based on 34,177 students enrolled.
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 11
Illinois Institute of Technology IL
$83k
- Completion rate
- 75%
- Net price a year
- $18,425
- Private nonprofit
- 2,833 students
Based on 2,833 students enrolled.
Illinois Institute of Technology: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 12
- Completion rate
- 85%
- Net price a year
- $14,355
- Public
- 36,258 students
Based on 36,258 students enrolled.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 13
Ohio Northern University OH
$81k
- Completion rate
- 75%
- Net price a year
- $24,478
- Private nonprofit
- 2,489 students
Based on 2,489 students enrolled.
Ohio Northern University: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 14
Marquette University WI
$78k
- Completion rate
- 83%
- Net price a year
- $31,487
- Private nonprofit
- 7,660 students
Based on 7,660 students enrolled.
- 15
- Completion rate
- 68%
- Net price a year
- $14,182
- Public
- 5,955 students
Based on 5,955 students enrolled.
Michigan Technological University: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 16
Butler University IN
$77k
- Completion rate
- 80%
- Net price a year
- $36,041
- Private nonprofit
- 4,317 students
Based on 4,317 students enrolled.
- 17
Saint Johns University MN
$77k
- Completion rate
- 75%
- Net price a year
- $25,672
- Private nonprofit
- 1,395 students
Based on 1,395 students enrolled.
- 18
University of Dayton OH
$76k
- Completion rate
- 80%
- Net price a year
- $29,533
- Private nonprofit
- 7,682 students
Based on 7,682 students enrolled.
- 19
Carleton College MN
$76k
- Completion rate
- 90%
- Net price a year
- $25,407
- Private nonprofit
- 2,086 students
Based on 2,086 students enrolled.
- 20
Mount Carmel College of Nursing OH
$75k
- Completion rate
- 54%
- Net price a year
- $10,420
- Private nonprofit
- 532 students
Based on 532 students enrolled.
Mount Carmel College of Nursing: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 21
University of Wisconsin-Madison WI
$74k
- Completion rate
- 90%
- Net price a year
- $17,354
- Public
- 36,902 students
Based on 36,902 students enrolled.
University of Wisconsin-Madison: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 22
University of St Thomas MN
$74k
- Completion rate
- 76%
- Net price a year
- $29,155
- Private nonprofit
- 6,245 students
Based on 6,245 students enrolled.
- 23
Purdue University-Main Campus IN
$72k
- Completion rate
- 83%
- Net price a year
- $14,600
- Public
- 44,503 students
Based on 44,503 students enrolled.
Purdue University-Main Campus: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 24
Kenyon College OH
$72k
- Completion rate
- 82%
- Net price a year
- $38,512
- Private nonprofit
- 1,732 students
Based on 1,732 students enrolled.
- 25
Loyola University Chicago IL
$72k
- Completion rate
- 73%
- Net price a year
- $36,079
- Private nonprofit
- 11,737 students
Based on 11,737 students enrolled.
Loyola University Chicago: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
Full ranking
All 100 colleges that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
How this ranking works
Earnings are the median earnings of students who received federal financial aid, ten years after they first enrolled, as published in the Department of Education College Scorecard. They describe past students, not a promise for future ones.
Only colleges with at least 500 students and published earnings are ranked. A college's earnings reflect who enrolls and what they study as much as what the college teaches.
Sample bar: colleges with fewer than 500 students enrolled are not ranked.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (median earnings, completion, net price), as held in our college tables. Data as of November 2026.
Our job data covers professional roles on the career sites of employers we track, so figures describe that market, not every job. Spot an error? Tell us.
Questions
- Which certification ranks first: colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in the great lakes?
- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology leads the Great Lakes among colleges for earnings: its former students earn a median of $101k ten years after enrolling, against $50k for the typical college in this list.
- How many colleges are ranked?
- 100 colleges have at least 500 students enrolled, so the list has 100 entries.
- How is the ranking calculated?
- Earnings are the median earnings of students who received federal financial aid, ten years after they first enrolled, as published in the Department of Education College Scorecard. They describe past students, not a promise for future ones. Only colleges with at least 500 students and published earnings are ranked. A college's earnings reflect who enrolls and what they study as much as what the college teaches.
- How often is it updated?
- Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.
More rankings
- Best college towns for junior jobs in the Great Lakes
- Counties with the lowest unemployment in the Great Lakes
- Counties where unemployment fell the most in the Great Lakes
- Counties with the highest share of white-collar workers in the Great Lakes
- Counties with the most jobs in AI-exposed sectors in the Great Lakes
- Best cities for junior jobs in the Great Lakes
- Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling
- Four-year colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling
- Community and two-year colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling
- Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in Alabama
- Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in Arkansas
- Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in Arizona
- All rankings
Cite this ranking
NextChapter, “Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in the Great Lakes,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/colleges-with-the-highest-earnings-in-the-great-lakes
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/colleges-with-the-highest-earnings-in-the-great-lakes">Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in the Great Lakes (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
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