Median earnings of music graduates (master's degree) one year after graduation, at 84 colleges. National median: $37,309, rising to $47,875 after four years.
| # | College | State | Earnings after 1 yr | After 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|
| 1 | Central Washington University | WA | $73,824 | $79,115 | $29,274 |
| 2 | California State University-Los Angeles | CA | $68,967 | — | — |
| 3 | Sam Houston State University | TX | $67,549 | $68,888 | — |
| 4 | Messiah University | PA | $66,907 | $77,342 | $32,196 |
| 5 | The University of Texas at El Paso | TX | $63,586 | — | — |
| 6 | Northern State University | SD | $61,168 | — | — |
| 7 | Southern Utah University | UT | $59,825 | — | $21,948 |
| 8 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | NJ | $58,234 | $51,160 | — |
| 9 | Rutgers University-Newark | NJ | $58,234 | $51,160 | — |
| 10 | George Mason University | VA | $57,819 | $53,431 | — |
| 11 | Ohio University-Main Campus | OH | $52,875 | $50,365 | $24,628 |
| 12 | Rider University | NJ | $52,766 | $45,928 | $39,372 |
| 13 | Georgia State University | GA | $52,753 | $46,454 | $38,500 |
| 14 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | OH | $52,331 | $46,069 | $29,287 |
| 15 | SUNY at Fredonia | NY | $51,955 | $57,662 | — |
| 16 | Michigan State University | MI | $51,726 | $62,193 | $33,887 |
| 17 | California State University-Northridge | CA | $50,835 | $60,697 | $41,000 |
| 18 | Ball State University | IN | $49,904 | — | — |
| 19 | Montclair State University | NJ | $49,608 | $54,787 | $37,000 |
| 20 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | PA | $49,119 | — | — |
| 21 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | CO | $48,478 | $57,772 | $26,000 |
| 22 | Stephen F Austin State University | TX | $48,067 | $59,471 | — |
| 23 | Wichita State University | KS | $46,718 | $49,779 | — |
| 24 | East Carolina University | NC | $46,538 | — | — |
| 25 | University of Memphis | TN | $46,530 | $57,099 | — |
| 26 | Shenandoah University | VA | $45,661 | $42,787 | — |
| 27 | Liberty University | VA | $44,550 | $46,324 | $32,648 |
| 28 | Berklee College of Music | MA | $44,532 | $55,467 | $41,000 |
| 29 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | WI | $44,415 | $53,047 | — |
| 30 | University of Redlands | CA | $44,341 | — | — |
| 31 | University of Mississippi | MS | $43,743 | — | — |
| 32 | Oklahoma City University | OK | $42,289 | $49,533 | — |
| 33 | University of Central Florida | FL | $41,374 | — | — |
| 34 | The New England Conservatory of Music | MA | $40,586 | $45,532 | $65,868 |
| 35 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | SC | $40,317 | $54,634 | — |
| 36 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | MA | $40,257 | $38,489 | — |
| 37 | University of Iowa | IA | $39,636 | $48,460 | — |
| 38 | Yale University | CT | $39,377 | $29,895 | $26,000 |
| 39 | Ithaca College | NY | $39,343 | — | — |
| 40 | Belmont University | TN | $39,257 | $37,264 | $42,948 |
| 41 | Johns Hopkins University | MD | $37,669 | $51,713 | $41,000 |
| 42 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | NC | $37,309 | $40,517 | $35,844 |
| 43 | Rice University | TX | $36,744 | $50,777 | $37,384 |
| 44 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | $36,742 | $46,731 | $39,700 |
| 45 | University of Southern California | CA | $36,389 | $45,304 | $42,500 |
| 46 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | $36,054 | $39,607 | $21,656 |
| 47 | University of Delaware | DE | $35,700 | $66,502 | — |
| 48 | Indiana University-Bloomington | IN | $35,551 | $44,312 | $41,000 |
| 49 | Illinois State University | IL | $35,079 | $46,476 | — |
| 50 | University of Louisville | KY | $34,962 | $41,519 | — |
| 51 | Longy School of Music of Bard College | MA | $34,224 | $48,961 | $29,735 |
| 52 | Bard College | NY | $34,224 | $48,961 | $29,735 |
| 53 | The University of Texas at Austin | TX | $33,947 | $37,603 | $37,338 |
| 54 | California State University-Fullerton | CA | $33,393 | $37,850 | $21,968 |
| 55 | University of California-Los Angeles | CA | $33,157 | $45,410 | $41,000 |
| 56 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | OH | $32,924 | $37,208 | $30,419 |
| 57 | New York University | NY | $32,774 | $52,777 | $106,157 |
| 58 | University of North Texas | TX | $32,542 | $44,040 | $37,080 |
| 59 | University of Hartford | CT | $32,523 | $54,836 | — |
| 60 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | TN | $32,407 | $53,019 | — |
| 61 | Carnegie Mellon University | PA | $32,360 | $39,953 | $41,000 |
| 62 | University of Northern Colorado | CO | $32,329 | $41,645 | — |
| 63 | The Juilliard School | NY | $32,251 | $46,372 | $41,000 |
| 64 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | PA | $32,151 | — | — |
| 65 | DePaul University | IL | $31,762 | $38,670 | $41,000 |
| 66 | California State University-Long Beach | CA | $31,598 | $32,534 | — |
| 67 | Roosevelt University | IL | $31,328 | $41,219 | $41,000 |
| 68 | California Institute of the Arts | CA | $31,322 | $29,494 | $90,624 |
| 69 | University of Colorado Boulder | CO | $31,319 | $45,110 | $29,326 |
| 70 | University of Denver | CO | $31,130 | $53,050 | $41,000 |
| 71 | Boston University | MA | $30,881 | $43,249 | $41,000 |
| 72 | University of Oregon | OR | $30,857 | $45,719 | — |
| 73 | University of Maryland-College Park | MD | $30,204 | $54,160 | — |
| 74 | Northwestern University | IL | $29,649 | $34,062 | $41,000 |
| 75 | Temple University | PA | $29,103 | $44,122 | $33,922 |
| 76 | San Francisco Conservatory of Music | CA | $28,689 | $51,822 | $60,352 |
| 77 | University of Rochester | NY | $28,617 | $42,543 | $41,175 |
| 78 | Manhattan School of Music | NY | $28,612 | $40,812 | $76,750 |
| 79 | University of Miami | FL | $26,987 | $55,826 | $41,000 |
| 80 | Baylor University | TX | $26,267 | $46,515 | — |
| 81 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | LA | $26,075 | $51,887 | — |
| 82 | Western Michigan University | MI | $25,465 | $33,453 | — |
| 83 | Southern Methodist University | TX | $24,988 | $44,670 | — |
| 84 | Cleveland Institute of Music | OH | $23,210 | $38,887 | $41,000 |
Earnings are median annual earnings of graduates who received federal financial aid, measured by the U.S. Department of Education. Colleges with too few graduates are not shown.
Frequently asked questions
How much do music graduates earn?
The median college reports $37,309 in earnings one year after a master's degree in music and $47,875 four years after. The highest is $73,824 at Central Washington University.
How much student debt do music graduates have?
The median federal loan debt for this degree is about $39,700 at the typical college.