Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in the Northeast
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 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA: $143k
- #2 MCPHS University, MA: $126k
- #3 Babson College, MA: $124k
- 100 colleges ranked across the Northeast
- Data as of November 2026
For comparison: $59k across the typical college in this list.
- 1Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA$143k
- 2MCPHS University MA$126k
- 3Babson College MA$124k
- 4Bentley University MA$121k
- 5Carnegie Mellon University PA$115k
- 6University of Pennsylvania PA$111k
- 7Helene Fuld College of Nursing NY$111k
- 8Princeton University NJ$110k
- 9Stevens Institute of Technology NJ$109k
- 10Lehigh University PA$106k
What stands out
- The top ten is tightly packed: Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads on $143k, and #10 Lehigh University is at $106k.
- Helene Fuld College of Nursing reaches #7 on a sample of 914 students enrolled, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
- University of Pennsylvania is the largest market in the top ten, with 10,650 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
- Completion rate
- 96%
- Net price a year
- $20,111
- Private nonprofit
- 4,535 students
Based on 4,535 students enrolled.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 2
MCPHS University MA
$126k
- Completion rate
- 62%
- Net price a year
- $39,545
- Private nonprofit
- 3,451 students
Based on 3,451 students enrolled.
- 3
Babson College MA
$124k
- Completion rate
- 93%
- Net price a year
- $40,514
- Private nonprofit
- 2,728 students
Based on 2,728 students enrolled.
- 4
Bentley University MA
$121k
- Completion rate
- 87%
- Net price a year
- $37,930
- Private nonprofit
- 4,474 students
Based on 4,474 students enrolled.
- 5
Carnegie Mellon University PA
$115k
- Completion rate
- 94%
- Net price a year
- $31,944
- Private nonprofit
- 7,304 students
Based on 7,304 students enrolled.
Carnegie Mellon University: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 6
University of Pennsylvania PA
$111k
- Completion rate
- 97%
- Net price a year
- $28,699
- Private nonprofit
- 10,650 students
Based on 10,650 students enrolled.
University of Pennsylvania: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 7
Helene Fuld College of Nursing NY
$111k
- Completion rate
- Not available
- Net price a year
- $47,181
- Private nonprofit
- 914 students
Based on 914 students enrolled.
Helene Fuld College of Nursing: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 8
Princeton University NJ
$110k
- Completion rate
- 98%
- Net price a year
- $6,128
- Private nonprofit
- 5,709 students
Based on 5,709 students enrolled.
- 9
Stevens Institute of Technology NJ
$109k
- Completion rate
- 87%
- Net price a year
- $41,346
- Private nonprofit
- 4,222 students
Based on 4,222 students enrolled.
Stevens Institute of Technology: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 10
Lehigh University PA
$106k
- Completion rate
- 88%
- Net price a year
- $36,931
- Private nonprofit
- 5,898 students
Based on 5,898 students enrolled.
- 11
St Paul's School of Nursing-Queens NY
$104k
- Completion rate
- 56%
- Net price a year
- $26,315
- Private for-profit
- 1,056 students
Based on 1,056 students enrolled.
St Paul's School of Nursing-Queens: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 12
Cornell University NY
$104k
- Completion rate
- 95%
- Net price a year
- $28,690
- Private nonprofit
- 15,995 students
Based on 15,995 students enrolled.
- 13
Boston College MA
$104k
- Completion rate
- 91%
- Net price a year
- $41,704
- Private nonprofit
- 10,085 students
Based on 10,085 students enrolled.
- 14
Worcester Polytechnic Institute MA
$103k
- Completion rate
- 90%
- Net price a year
- $43,071
- Private nonprofit
- 5,447 students
Based on 5,447 students enrolled.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 15
- Completion rate
- 96%
- Net price a year
- $21,590
- Private nonprofit
- 8,973 students
Based on 8,973 students enrolled.
Columbia University in the City of New York: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 16
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute NY
$102k
- Completion rate
- 84%
- Net price a year
- $36,228
- Private nonprofit
- 5,714 students
Based on 5,714 students enrolled.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 17
Harvard University MA
$102k
- Completion rate
- 98%
- Net price a year
- $19,066
- Private nonprofit
- 7,601 students
Based on 7,601 students enrolled.
- 18
Yale University CT
$101k
- Completion rate
- 96%
- Net price a year
- $23,777
- Private nonprofit
- 6,758 students
Based on 6,758 students enrolled.
- 19
Villanova University PA
$100k
- Completion rate
- 92%
- Net price a year
- $43,756
- Private nonprofit
- 6,938 students
Based on 6,938 students enrolled.
- 20
Dartmouth College NH
$97k
- Completion rate
- 96%
- Net price a year
- $29,519
- Private nonprofit
- 4,541 students
Based on 4,541 students enrolled.
- 21
SUNY Maritime College NY
$96k
- Completion rate
- 64%
- Net price a year
- $22,367
- Public
- 1,285 students
Based on 1,285 students enrolled.
- 22
Bucknell University PA
$94k
- Completion rate
- 86%
- Net price a year
- $40,766
- Private nonprofit
- 3,876 students
Based on 3,876 students enrolled.
- 23
Brown University RI
$93k
- Completion rate
- 96%
- Net price a year
- $25,184
- Private nonprofit
- 7,226 students
Based on 7,226 students enrolled.
- 24
Northeastern University MA
$93k
- Completion rate
- 91%
- Net price a year
- $30,915
- Private nonprofit
- 17,326 students
Based on 17,326 students enrolled.
- 25
- Completion rate
- Not available
- Net price a year
- Not available
- Private nonprofit
- 1,802 students
Based on 1,802 students enrolled.
Northeastern University Professional Programs: 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 northeast?
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads the Northeast among colleges for earnings: its former students earn a median of $143k ten years after enrolling, against $59k 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 Northeast
- Counties with the lowest unemployment in the Northeast
- Counties where unemployment fell the most in the Northeast
- Counties with the highest share of white-collar workers in the Northeast
- Counties with the most jobs in AI-exposed sectors in the Northeast
- Best cities for junior jobs in the Northeast
- 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 Northeast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/colleges-with-the-highest-earnings-in-the-northeast
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/colleges-with-the-highest-earnings-in-the-northeast">Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in the Northeast (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
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