Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in the Southeast
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 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus, GA: $103k
- #2 West Coast University-Miami, FL: $103k
- #3 Duke University, NC: $98k
- 100 colleges ranked across the Southeast
- Data as of November 2026
For comparison: $45k across the typical college in this list.
- 1Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus GA$103k
- 2West Coast University-Miami FL$103k
- 3Duke University NC$98k
- 4Washington and Lee University VA$95k
- 5Chamberlain University-Georgia GA$92k
- 6Chamberlain University-Florida FL$92k
- 7Chamberlain University-Virginia VA$92k
- 8Vanderbilt University TN$92k
- 9University of Virginia-Main Campus VA$87k
- 10Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide FL$84k
What stands out
- The top ten is tightly packed: Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus leads on $103k, and #10 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide is at $84k.
- Chamberlain University-Virginia reaches #7 on a sample of 557 students enrolled, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
- Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus is the largest market in the top ten, with 18,785 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
- 94%
- Net price a year
- $12,116
- Public
- 18,785 students
Based on 18,785 students enrolled.
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 2
West Coast University-Miami FL
$103k
- Completion rate
- 33%
- Net price a year
- $32,539
- Private for-profit
- 961 students
Based on 961 students enrolled.
West Coast University-Miami: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 3
Duke University NC
$98k
- Completion rate
- 97%
- Net price a year
- $29,612
- Private nonprofit
- 6,442 students
Based on 6,442 students enrolled.
- 4
Washington and Lee University VA
$95k
- Completion rate
- 94%
- Net price a year
- $23,781
- Private nonprofit
- 1,881 students
Based on 1,881 students enrolled.
Washington and Lee University: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 5
Chamberlain University-Georgia GA
$92k
- Completion rate
- 50%
- Net price a year
- $33,188
- Private for-profit
- 1,940 students
Based on 1,940 students enrolled.
Chamberlain University-Georgia: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 6
Chamberlain University-Florida FL
$92k
- Completion rate
- 33%
- Net price a year
- $31,269
- Private for-profit
- 821 students
Based on 821 students enrolled.
Chamberlain University-Florida: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 7
Chamberlain University-Virginia VA
$92k
- Completion rate
- 100%
- Net price a year
- $33,199
- Private for-profit
- 557 students
Based on 557 students enrolled.
Chamberlain University-Virginia: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 8
Vanderbilt University TN
$92k
- Completion rate
- 94%
- Net price a year
- $15,846
- Private nonprofit
- 7,208 students
Based on 7,208 students enrolled.
- 9
- Completion rate
- 96%
- Net price a year
- $21,565
- Public
- 17,597 students
Based on 17,597 students enrolled.
University of Virginia-Main Campus: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 10
- Completion rate
- 21%
- Net price a year
- $18,725
- Private nonprofit
- 9,139 students
Based on 9,139 students enrolled.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 11
- Completion rate
- 67%
- Net price a year
- $41,272
- Private nonprofit
- 7,860 students
Based on 7,860 students enrolled.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 12
- Completion rate
- 86%
- Net price a year
- $24,953
- Public
- 30,923 students
Based on 30,923 students enrolled.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 13
Davidson College NC
$81k
- Completion rate
- 91%
- Net price a year
- $17,379
- Private nonprofit
- 1,867 students
Based on 1,867 students enrolled.
- 14
Emory University GA
$80k
- Completion rate
- 91%
- Net price a year
- $22,585
- Private nonprofit
- 7,298 students
Based on 7,298 students enrolled.
- 15
Emory University-Oxford College GA
$80k
- Completion rate
- 94%
- Net price a year
- $37,920
- Private nonprofit
- 967 students
Based on 967 students enrolled.
Emory University-Oxford College: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 16
Wake Forest University NC
$78k
- Completion rate
- 89%
- Net price a year
- $28,719
- Private nonprofit
- 5,485 students
Based on 5,485 students enrolled.
- 17
Virginia Military Institute VA
$77k
- Completion rate
- 76%
- Net price a year
- $17,113
- Public
- 1,527 students
Based on 1,527 students enrolled.
Virginia Military Institute: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 18
- Completion rate
- Not available
- Net price a year
- Not available
- Private nonprofit
- 591 students
Based on 591 students enrolled.
Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 19
George Mason University VA
$76k
- Completion rate
- 68%
- Net price a year
- $17,915
- Public
- 27,752 students
Based on 27,752 students enrolled.
- 20
University of Richmond VA
$76k
- Completion rate
- 85%
- Net price a year
- $31,309
- Private nonprofit
- 2,980 students
Based on 2,980 students enrolled.
- 21
University of Miami FL
$75k
- Completion rate
- 84%
- Net price a year
- $37,244
- Private nonprofit
- 12,913 students
Based on 12,913 students enrolled.
- 22
Elon University NC
$75k
- Completion rate
- 84%
- Net price a year
- $41,555
- Private nonprofit
- 6,452 students
Based on 6,452 students enrolled.
- 23
William & Mary VA
$73k
- Completion rate
- 89%
- Net price a year
- $19,096
- Public
- 7,055 students
Based on 7,055 students enrolled.
- 24
- Completion rate
- 40%
- Net price a year
- $11,212
- Private nonprofit
- 770 students
Based on 770 students enrolled.
Baptist Health Sciences University: programs, pay and open jobs nearby
- 25
AdventHealth University FL
$72k
- Completion rate
- 39%
- Net price a year
- $30,135
- Private nonprofit
- 1,361 students
Based on 1,361 students enrolled.
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 southeast?
- Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus leads the Southeast among colleges for earnings: its former students earn a median of $103k ten years after enrolling, against $45k 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 Southeast
- Counties with the lowest unemployment in the Southeast
- Counties where unemployment fell the most in the Southeast
- Counties with the highest share of white-collar workers in the Southeast
- Counties with the most jobs in AI-exposed sectors in the Southeast
- Best cities for junior jobs in the Southeast
- 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 Southeast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/colleges-with-the-highest-earnings-in-the-southeast
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/colleges-with-the-highest-earnings-in-the-southeast">Colleges with the highest earnings 10 years after enrolling in the Southeast (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.
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