Median Earnings for Technology Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
The typical technology bachelor's program pays $66,537 a year after graduation and $87,437 five years out, in EDsmart Data's analysis of College Scorecard program data. That is $20,048 more than the median bachelor's program in any field. The highest-paying technology credential is Computer Engineering (Master's) at $118,192 in year one.
Key Facts
- Technology bachelor's, year 1: $66,537
- Technology bachelor's, year 5: $87,437
- Top-paying technology field: Computer Engineering
- Technology programs with earnings data: 2,464
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Median earnings for technology degrees by credential level
Technology vs all fields
Our analysis finds technology bachelor's graduates earn $66,537 in year one versus $46,489 for all bachelor's programs.
Program medians weighted by graduates with reported earnings.
Technology degree earnings and debt by credential
| Credential | Year-1 earnings | Year-5 earnings | All fields, year 1 | Median debt | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate | $39,380 | $48,268 | $26,897 | $13,000 | 141 |
| Associate | $43,314 | $56,031 | $39,410 | $23,137 | 341 |
| Bachelor's | $66,537 | $87,437 | $46,489 | $26,000 | 1,583 |
| Master's | $89,376 | $94,667 | $64,745 | $41,000 | 399 |
Computer science by credential: earnings at each step
Weighted medians across all programs at each credential level.
Top 25 highest-paying technology degrees and certificates
Fields with at least 5 programs reporting year-1 earnings, ranked by median earnings one year after completion.
| Field of study | Credential | Year-1 earnings | Year-5 earnings | Median debt | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Engineering | Master's | $118,192 | $137,077 | $41,000 | 25 |
| Computer Science | Master's | $108,371 | $149,706 | $32,231 | 50 |
| Computer Software and Media Applications | Master's | $101,328 | $110,053 | $41,000 | 25 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | Master's | $97,286 | $111,328 | $37,654 | 87 |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management | Master's | $95,439 | $129,716 | $40,602 | 83 |
| Mathematics and Computer Science | Bachelor's | $89,651 | $94,546 | $19,750 | 9 |
| Computer Engineering | Bachelor's | $81,123 | $108,748 | $24,337 | 180 |
| Computer Science | Bachelor's | $77,385 | $109,905 | $22,500 | 351 |
| Management Information Systems and Services | Master's | $77,162 | $91,674 | $46,275 | 38 |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management | Certificate | $75,635 | $54,382 | $27,000 | 41 |
| Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications | Master's | $74,141 | $94,974 | $38,939 | 8 |
| Information Science/Studies | Master's | $71,873 | $94,667 | $74,156 | 73 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | Bachelor's | $67,315 | $92,007 | $25,250 | 454 |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management | Bachelor's | $66,588 | $78,421 | $26,917 | 104 |
| Information Science/Studies | Bachelor's | $66,209 | $92,982 | $26,000 | 146 |
| Management Information Systems and Services | Bachelor's | $63,023 | $85,566 | $24,500 | 155 |
| Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications | Bachelor's | $60,540 | $73,315 | $48,014 | 41 |
| Management Information Systems and Services | Certificate | $58,382 | $52,953 | $27,000 | 20 |
| Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services, Other | Bachelor's | $58,006 | $77,725 | $29,700 | 6 |
| Computer Systems Analysis | Bachelor's | $51,805 | $74,585 | $46,000 | 23 |
| Information Science/Studies | Associate | $51,734 | $66,641 | $24,788 | 19 |
| Computer Programming | Bachelor's | $50,242 | $81,925 | $28,000 | 29 |
| Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians | Bachelor's | $48,829 | $81,090 | $55,425 | 28 |
| Computer Engineering | Associate | $48,263 | $72,251 | $23,635 | 7 |
| Computer Science | Associate | $47,904 | $69,928 | $13,000 | 6 |
Top 25 schools for computer science bachelor's earnings
| School | State | Year-1 earnings | Year-5 earnings | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. California Institute of Technology | CA | $173,344 | — | — |
| 2. Carnegie Mellon University | PA | $171,264 | $251,632 | $21,442 |
| 3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology | MA | $154,492 | $220,064 | $12,000 |
| 4. Cornell University | NY | $152,656 | $219,827 | $14,698 |
| 5. Harvard University | MA | $152,251 | $219,550 | — |
| 6. Brown University | RI | $151,065 | $271,601 | $11,500 |
| 7. University of California-Berkeley | CA | $149,866 | $225,140 | $13,900 |
| 8. Princeton University | NJ | $146,624 | — | — |
| 9. Pomona College | CA | $143,084 | — | — |
| 10. Stanford University | CA | $138,613 | $247,797 | $10,399 |
| 11. University of Southern California | CA | $137,284 | $180,906 | $20,178 |
| 12. Duke University | NC | $133,356 | $201,846 | $13,500 |
| 13. Dartmouth College | NH | $132,919 | $192,848 | $18,490 |
| 14. Harvey Mudd College | CA | $132,265 | $220,204 | $22,949 |
| 15. University of Washington-Bothell Campus | WA | $128,887 | $162,117 | $16,118 |
| 16. University of Washington-Seattle Campus | WA | $128,887 | $162,117 | $16,118 |
| 17. University of Pennsylvania | PA | $124,678 | $171,166 | $13,500 |
| 18. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | $124,530 | $170,405 | $20,500 |
| 19. Vanderbilt University | TN | $122,244 | — | $14,500 |
| 20. Columbia University in the City of New York | NY | $118,636 | $204,511 | $20,397 |
| 21. University of Chicago | IL | $117,578 | $227,147 | — |
| 22. University of California-San Diego | CA | $112,006 | $160,463 | $16,550 |
| 23. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | CA | $111,141 | — | $19,298 |
| 24. Williams College | MA | $110,814 | $163,743 | $12,208 |
| 25. Washington University in St Louis | MO | $110,302 | — | $15,500 |
What the data shows
Technology degrees pay above average at the bachelor's level in our analysis, and the credential level matters as much as the field. Moving up a level usually raises year-one earnings more than switching schools does.
Earnings vary widely by program. The school-level table shows how far the best programs sit above the national median, so compare a specific program's earnings rather than relying on the field average.
Methodology
Program figures come from the College Scorecard field-of-study file: one record per institution × 4-digit CIP code × credential level. Earnings are median annual earnings of federal-aid recipients who completed the program and were working and not enrolled, measured 1, 4, and 5 years after completion (in the dollar year of the Scorecard release). Debt is the median federal loan balance (Stafford and Grad PLUS) at completion; private loans and Parent PLUS are excluded. Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education and drop out of each column.
When we summarize many programs, we take the median across programs weighted by the number of graduates in each program's earnings (or debt) cohort, so large programs count more than tiny ones.
Technology covers CIP family 11 (computer and information sciences) plus computer engineering (14.09), computer engineering technology (15.12), data science (30.70), data analytics (30.71), mathematics and computer science (30.08), and management information systems (52.12).
Frequently asked questions
How much do technology degree graduates earn?
The median technology bachelor's program pays $66,537 one year after graduation and $87,437 five years out, based on College Scorecard data for 1,583 programs.
What is the highest-paying technology degree?
Computer Engineering (Master's) leads at $118,192 in year-one median earnings, followed by Computer Science (Master's, $108,371).
Do technology associate degrees pay well?
The median technology associate program pays $43,314 in year one, versus $39,410 for associate programs in all fields.
How much debt do technology graduates have?
Median federal debt for technology bachelor's graduates is $26,000.
Data sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard institution and field-of-study files (latest release in our extract)