Median earnings of physics graduates (bachelor's degree) one year after graduation, at 74 colleges. National median: $54,341, rising to $79,158 after four years.
| # | College | State | Earnings after 1 yr | After 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|
| 1 | University of Pennsylvania | PA | $89,591 | — | $19,500 |
| 2 | Drexel University | PA | $81,707 | — | — |
| 3 | University of Arizona | AZ | $76,968 | $88,207 | $14,679 |
| 4 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | MA | $76,720 | — | — |
| 5 | Bethel University | MN | $76,335 | $85,657 | $22,000 |
| 6 | Southern Arkansas University Main Campus | AR | $72,874 | $89,685 | $23,250 |
| 7 | University of California-Santa Cruz | CA | $72,553 | $131,315 | — |
| 8 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | WI | $71,379 | $87,033 | — |
| 9 | University of Wisconsin-River Falls | WI | $70,019 | $85,638 | — |
| 10 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | VA | $68,081 | $92,746 | $20,942 |
| 11 | Virginia Commonwealth University | VA | $67,201 | $77,737 | — |
| 12 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | NC | $66,284 | $103,477 | $14,067 |
| 13 | Brigham Young University | UT | $64,945 | $73,747 | — |
| 14 | University of California-Santa Barbara | CA | $64,520 | $85,219 | $12,804 |
| 15 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | PA | $64,200 | — | — |
| 16 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | $64,107 | $81,077 | $18,767 |
| 17 | The University of Texas at Austin | TX | $64,009 | $74,738 | $19,769 |
| 18 | University of Wisconsin-La Crosse | WI | $63,488 | $80,594 | — |
| 19 | Lewis University | IL | $62,440 | $76,122 | — |
| 20 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | $62,060 | $92,826 | $18,531 |
| 21 | University of California-San Diego | CA | $61,325 | $95,018 | $11,407 |
| 22 | Portland State University | OR | $58,579 | $87,488 | — |
| 23 | University of California-Los Angeles | CA | $58,575 | $85,708 | $13,856 |
| 24 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | NY | $58,485 | $81,840 | $23,250 |
| 25 | University of Maryland-College Park | MD | $58,347 | $90,900 | $19,140 |
| 26 | Brigham Young University-Idaho | ID | $57,495 | — | — |
| 27 | The University of Texas at Arlington | TX | $56,663 | $71,830 | $16,615 |
| 28 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | MI | $56,501 | $92,293 | $19,139 |
| 29 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College | PA | $55,968 | $81,763 | $20,500 |
| 30 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | PA | $55,968 | $81,763 | $20,500 |
| 31 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington | PA | $55,968 | $81,763 | $20,500 |
| 32 | The College of New Jersey | NJ | $55,909 | — | $23,500 |
| 33 | SUNY College at Geneseo | NY | $55,688 | $77,575 | $14,750 |
| 34 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | CA | $54,588 | $87,856 | — |
| 35 | University of Colorado Boulder | CO | $54,506 | $75,764 | $18,506 |
| 36 | Stockton University | NJ | $54,355 | $86,849 | — |
| 37 | University of North Florida | FL | $54,341 | $64,413 | — |
| 38 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | $54,120 | $81,696 | $17,313 |
| 39 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion | AZ | $54,120 | $81,696 | $17,313 |
| 40 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | MN | $53,403 | $80,025 | $19,730 |
| 41 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | WI | $53,377 | $77,380 | $20,375 |
| 42 | Gettysburg College | PA | $53,367 | — | — |
| 43 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | NH | $53,096 | — | — |
| 44 | Northeastern University | MA | $53,093 | — | $25,500 |
| 45 | Michigan State University | MI | $52,160 | $72,555 | $24,088 |
| 46 | Rutgers University-Camden | NJ | $50,763 | $67,544 | $22,000 |
| 47 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | NJ | $50,763 | $67,544 | $22,000 |
| 48 | Rutgers University-Newark | NJ | $50,763 | $67,544 | $22,000 |
| 49 | University of Delaware | DE | $50,132 | $74,475 | — |
| 50 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | OH | $50,108 | $94,543 | $20,943 |
| 51 | Rochester Institute of Technology | NY | $48,519 | $75,281 | $27,000 |
| 52 | University of California-Merced | CA | $46,988 | — | — |
| 53 | University of California-Davis | CA | $46,391 | $78,569 | $16,233 |
| 54 | University of Chicago | IL | $46,218 | $101,865 | — |
| 55 | Rowan University | NJ | $46,070 | $72,734 | $26,000 |
| 56 | California State University-Long Beach | CA | $45,967 | $70,462 | $16,825 |
| 57 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | WA | $45,902 | $75,867 | $16,052 |
| 58 | University of Washington-Bothell Campus | WA | $45,902 | $75,867 | $16,052 |
| 59 | University of Central Florida | FL | $45,111 | — | $23,278 |
| 60 | Purdue University-Main Campus | IN | $44,202 | $67,505 | $17,500 |
| 61 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh | NC | $43,931 | $51,590 | — |
| 62 | University of South Florida | FL | $43,622 | $68,967 | $17,625 |
| 63 | Western Washington University | WA | $43,443 | $63,833 | $20,500 |
| 64 | Appalachian State University | NC | $43,284 | $82,399 | — |
| 65 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | CA | $42,890 | $96,805 | — |
| 66 | Columbia College Chicago | IL | $42,234 | $85,985 | $24,250 |
| 67 | University of Utah | UT | $39,612 | $77,158 | $18,162 |
| 68 | University of California-Irvine | CA | $38,899 | $96,215 | $10,605 |
| 69 | Oregon State University | OR | $38,558 | $103,167 | $18,250 |
| 70 | Oregon State University-Cascades Campus | OR | $38,558 | $103,167 | $18,250 |
| 71 | Middle Tennessee State University | TN | $36,861 | $69,192 | — |
| 72 | Georgia State University | GA | $35,627 | $60,393 | $26,024 |
| 73 | University of California-Riverside | CA | $34,470 | $74,410 | $17,500 |
| 74 | Florida International University | FL | $19,824 | — | — |
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 physics graduates earn?
The median college reports $54,341 in earnings one year after a bachelor's degree in physics and $79,158 four years after. The highest is $89,591 at University of Pennsylvania.
How much student debt do physics graduates have?
The median federal loan debt for this degree is about $19,500 at the typical college.