Liberal Arts & Engineering Colleges


Our Liberal Arts colleges ranking is based purely on objective income data from the U.S. Department of Education. We rank universities by the median early-career pay of their graduates, providing valuable insight into the financial benefits of attending a particular school. Use this ranking as a starting point in your university search, and conduct further research to determine which school is the best fit for you.

Rank School Early Career Pay Average Cost Acceptance Rate # of Undergrads
1 Harvey Mudd College $112,059 $33,467 17.96% 827
2 Franklin W Olin College of Engineering $98,699 $15,647 16.44% 290
3 Claremont McKenna College $80,781 $21,993 13.34% 1,262
4 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology $79,785 $38,975 76.62% 1,969
5 Bucknell University $70,178 $43,895 37.53% 3,684
6 Lafayette College $66,921 $32,926 35.57% 2,489
7 Washington and Lee University $66,267 $26,175 24.51% 1,820
8 College of the Holy Cross $64,279 $35,761 37.94% 2,962
9 Union College $63,542 $33,200 41.26% 2,035
10 Trinity College $61,447 $32,694 36.04% 2,194
11 University of Richmond $61,214 $27,050 30.90% 3,304
12 Virginia Military Institute $60,651 $22,025 59.88% 1,698
13 Linfield University-McMinnville Campus $60,438 $27,671 80.18% 1,389
14 Williams College $59,277 $23,497 15.12% 1,917
15 Barnard College $58,581 $33,122 13.60% 2,744
16 Wellesley College $58,175 $23,908 20.41% 2,260
17 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology $57,561 $19,919 85.55% 2,043
18 Colgate University $57,238 $27,775 27.47% 3,032
19 Hamilton College $56,991 $22,107 18.41% 1,901
20 Saint Johns University $56,662 $25,487 81.38% 1,564
21 Gettysburg College $55,129 $27,936 48.24% 2,507
22 Franklin and Marshall College $54,904 $30,911 36.50% 2,242
23 Amherst College $54,333 $21,657 11.83% 1,745
24 Saint Anselm College $53,773 $32,819 76.15% 2,015
25 Connecticut College $53,562 $30,977 37.72% 1,711
26 Muhlenberg College $53,011 $29,936 62.18% 2,044
27 Scripps College $52,863 $33,573 35.13% 930
28 Stonehill College $52,843 $34,102 68.96% 2,421
29 Illinois Wesleyan University $52,371 $34,738 56.93% 1,628
30 Hobart William Smith Colleges $51,590 $35,764 61.84% 1,812
31 Davidson College $51,554 $21,042 20% 1,979
32 Dickinson College $51,355 $32,250 51.65% 1,899
33 Swarthmore College $51,200 $20,813 9.06% 1,435
34 Bowdoin College $51,153 $22,840 9.16% 1,776
35 Washington & Jefferson College $50,312 $28,635 90.18% 1,164
36 Rhodes College $50,078 $25,881 51.36% 1,801
37 University of New Hampshire at Manchester $50,047 $13,949 85.28% 694
38 Bryn Mawr College $49,745 $34,118 38.36% 1,298
39 Wesleyan University $49,408 $28,813 20.90% 2,838
40 Emmanuel College $49,367 $29,816 75.52% 1,785
41 Saint Mary’s College $49,118 $23,625 81.51% 1,412
42 Hampden-Sydney College $49,076 $30,746 47.01% 881
43 University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg $48,483 $16,369 90.02% 1,398
44 Elizabethtown College $48,470 $25,069 85.73% 1,649
45 Charter Oak State College $48,463 $11,872 N/A% 1,471
46 Carleton College $48,030 $28,928 21.18% 1,918
47 Wofford College $48,020 $27,988 53% 1,760
48 Colby College $47,810 $19,597 10.27% 2,155
49 College of Saint Benedict $47,749 $25,954 84.01% 1,662
50 Wabash College $47,697 $22,910 63.21% 868
51 Moravian University $47,647 $27,801 80.10% 1,951
52 Middlebury College $47,424 $26,525 22.04% 2,571
53 Gustavus Adolphus College $47,325 $24,696 70.61% 2,230
54 Occidental College $47,008 $34,032 40.90% 1,835
55 Southern California Institute of Technology $46,919 $27,063 N/A% 568
56 DePauw University $46,840 $25,587 68.49% 1,731
57 Wheaton College $46,794 $25,692 86.95% 2,228
58 Ursinus College $46,527 $30,206 80.44% 1,485
59 Augustana College $46,446 $23,489 57.35% 2,374
60 Skidmore College $46,423 $28,570 32.17% 2,574
61 Washington College $45,859 $27,088 80.28% 1,084
62 Westmont College $45,657 $30,975 70.16% 1,226
63 Furman University $45,496 $32,563 65.25% 2,341
64 Lake Forest College $45,449 $23,991 57.61% 1,552
65 Denison University $45,217 $29,597 28.17% 2,253
66 Susquehanna University $45,206 $25,396 73.04% 2,225
67 Saint Norbert College $44,901 $26,612 84.25% 1,859
68 St Lawrence University $44,894 $27,003 47.26% 2,256
69 Albright College $44,834 $19,427 82.10% 1,530
70 Centre College $44,830 $21,426 72.08% 1,333
71 Wheaton College (Massachusetts) $44,809 $26,575 77.09% 1,666
72 Kalamazoo College $44,781 $22,727 74.33% 1,445
73 Bates College $44,663 $26,392 14.10% 1,876
74 Pomona College $44,630 $17,949 8.62% 1,462
75 Saint Vincent College $44,550 $21,573 72.12% 1,432
76 Pitzer College $44,529 $29,195 16.57% 922
77 Willamette University $44,327 $34,294 80.17% 1,288
78 Hope College $44,047 $26,944 77.83% 2,963
79 Smith College $44,017 $29,615 36.52% 2,183
80 Luther College $44,001 $25,538 64.29% 1,794
81 Albion College $43,913 $16,862 74.44% 1,497
82 Southwestern University $43,899 $27,013 49.37% 1,505
83 Austin College $43,834 $20,980 49.28% 1,283
84 St Olaf College $43,815 $24,052 50.81% 2,928
85 University of Arizona-Sierra Vista $43,784 N/A N/A% 349
86 Wartburg College $43,742 $22,765 71.72% 1,531
87 Grinnell College $43,599 $25,182 19.25% 1,490
88 Vassar College $43,438 $27,499 24.54% 2,421
89 Randolph-Macon College $43,415 $25,551 71.31% 1,551
90 Simpson College $43,356 $19,644 86.62% 1,218
91 Concordia College at Moorhead $43,354 $23,189 58.08% 1,873
92 Allegheny College $43,345 $24,274 73.15% 1,615
93 The University of the South $43,280 $34,455 56.07% 1,698
94 Drew University $43,256 $25,776 73.15% 1,541
95 Coe College $43,025 $20,371 79.86% 1,363
96 University of Puget Sound $42,979 $33,562 86.85% 1,896
97 Haverford College $42,959 $25,789 18.23% 1,306
98 St. Mary’s College of Maryland $42,860 $19,448 79.03% 1,467
99 Saint Michael’s College $42,782 $29,361 87.81% 1,501
100 Whitman College $42,773 $35,894 54.13% 1,339
101 Kenyon College $42,583 $36,374 36.89% 1,610
102 Birmingham-Southern College $42,523 $19,808 60.45% 1,129
103 Franklin College $42,262 $20,535 76.07% 912
104 Colorado College $42,259 $24,703 13.60% 2,023
105 Juniata College $42,248 $21,241 67.46% 1,267
106 Whittier College $42,157 $26,740 72.33% 1,488
107 Roanoke College $42,057 $26,997 78.13% 1,899
108 Doane University $42,038 $23,440 68.80% 1,250
109 Bridgewater College $41,948 $20,457 76.14% 1,552
110 Central College $41,571 $21,099 63.68% 1,091
111 Hartwick College $41,416 $24,316 93.10% 1,199
112 Spelman College $41,313 $44,833 52.58% 2,206
113 Hanover College $40,989 $20,732 69.32% 1,025
114 Macalester College $40,959 $27,764 38.69% 2,049
115 Lycoming College $40,559 $18,554 65.48% 1,054
116 Illinois College $40,226 $18,271 75.24% 1,150
117 Mount Holyoke College $40,180 $28,724 52.47% 1,912
118 The King’s College $40,129 $35,422 39.48% 432
119 The College of Wooster $40,105 $24,249 65.30% 1,924
120 Wittenberg University $39,995 $21,508 97.43% 1,413
121 Presbyterian College $39,994 $21,460 70.83% 988
122 Ohio Wesleyan University $39,983 $24,720 68.40% 1,422
123 Lewis & Clark College $39,944 $36,638 79.82% 1,814
124 Westminster College $39,785 $20,603 76.51% 1,094
125 Ripon College $39,761 $20,741 74.06% 796
126 University of Minnesota-Morris $39,760 $10,529 64.65% 1,243
127 Westminster College $39,516 $24,139 97.43% 606
128 Centenary College of Louisiana $39,447 $22,672 63.69% 552
129 Meredith College $39,277 $24,362 71.62% 1,493
130 Morehouse College $38,825 $34,608 77.07% 2,152
131 Reed College $38,708 $33,350 42.34% 1,349
132 University of Wisconsin-Parkside $38,442 $11,082 66.31% 3,612
133 Millsaps College $38,423 $23,169 69.81% 668
134 Hendrix College $38,321 $19,746 70.54% 1,065
135 University of Wisconsin-Superior $38,090 $14,084 86.13% 2,040
136 Marymount Manhattan College $37,945 $38,757 88.18% 1,662
137 Bethany Lutheran College $37,943 $16,107 64.51% 632
138 Monmouth College $37,902 $17,302 69.43% 847
139 Oglethorpe University $37,900 $22,523 66.93% 1,415
140 Spring Hill College $37,808 $22,560 54.16% 1,058
141 Guilford College $37,788 $23,055 78.01% 1,262
142 Mansfield University of Pennsylvania $37,752 $11,793 96.02% 1,614
143 Ave Maria University $37,523 $18,264 91.79% 1,048
144 Lawrence University $37,518 $22,452 68.92% 1,419
145 Oberlin College $37,507 $34,777 35.36% 2,647
146 Knox College $37,361 $20,548 70.84% 1,130
147 Virginia Wesleyan University $37,287 $22,653 73.99% 1,261
148 Sweet Briar College $37,213 $23,783 75.95% 356
149 Bryn Athyn College of the New Church $37,124 $19,860 77.71% 268
150 Gordon College $37,017 $25,748 68.27% 1,428


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