Best Chemical Engineering Degrees in the US by ROI

Top colleges ranked by estimated 20-year net return on investment across all active states. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Programs Analyzed

152

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

+$506,231

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$39,558

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	Texas A&M University-College Station Grad rate: 83.7%	TX	+$913,357	$95,309	$32,085	$18,135	Full ROI →
2	Lamar University Grad rate: 37.4%	TX	+$830,430	$89,198	$21,626	$20,019	Full ROI →
3	The University of Texas at Austin Grad rate: 87.7%	TX	+$799,542	$89,285	$29,842	$19,844	Full ROI →
4	University of California-Berkeley Grad rate: 93.5%	CA	+$793,358	$91,435	$42,708	$18,155	Full ROI →
5	Brigham Young University Grad rate: 80.4%	UT	+$784,551	$86,347	$20,879	$13,980	Full ROI →
6	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Grad rate: 70.4%	LA	+$753,893	$87,944	$34,328	$20,500	Full ROI →
7	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Grad rate: 84.8%	IL	+$746,896	$87,314	$32,134	$22,850	Full ROI →
8	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Grad rate: 65.4%	OK	+$742,828	$86,071	$25,915	$25,875	Full ROI →
9	San Jose State University Grad rate: 66.2%	CA	+$732,700	$83,774	$25,695	N/A	Full ROI →
10	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Grad rate: 71.8%	OH	+$704,568	$84,425	$28,783	$21,333	Full ROI →
11	Rice University Grad rate: 94.7%	TX	+$701,029	$92,763	$74,110	$13,178	Full ROI →
12	University of Wisconsin-Madison Grad rate: 89.3%	WI	+$699,751	$84,023	$27,770	$21,947	Full ROI →
13	University of Pennsylvania Grad rate: 96.5%	PA	+$695,213	$95,292	$85,738	$20,500	Full ROI →
14	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Grad rate: 92.4%	GA	+$676,742	$83,219	$27,797	$27,000	Full ROI →
15	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Grad rate: 95.5%	MA	+$673,207	$92,657	$79,850	$15,209	Full ROI →
16	Mississippi State University Grad rate: 63.0%	MS	+$672,599	$82,587	$26,922	$23,298	Full ROI →
17	Kansas State University Grad rate: 69.5%	KS	+$662,523	$81,885	$25,441	$24,750	Full ROI →
18	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Grad rate: 84.6%	NC	+$658,558	$81,552	$25,613	$22,244	Full ROI →
19	Washington University in St Louis Grad rate: 94.1%	MO	+$657,691	$92,896	$83,476	$19,500	Full ROI →
20	Auburn University Grad rate: 80.0%	AL	+$653,881	$83,134	$34,402	$23,104	Full ROI →
21	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Grad rate: 86.3%	VA	+$652,377	$82,738	$32,040	$25,350	Full ROI →
22	University of Florida Grad rate: 90.7%	FL	+$652,296	$80,312	$21,719	$20,050	Full ROI →
23	Columbia University in the City of New York Grad rate: 95.1%	NY	+$650,372	$91,727	$86,042	N/A	Full ROI →
24	University of Toledo Grad rate: 55.2%	OH	+$649,097	$81,431	$26,190	$25,750	Full ROI →
25	University of Tulsa Grad rate: 72.8%	OK	+$642,688	$86,753	$63,093	N/A	Full ROI →
26	University of Maine Grad rate: 55.9%	ME	+$642,094	$80,767	$26,418	$20,425	Full ROI →
27	Syracuse University Grad rate: 82.4%	NY	+$641,106	$91,957	$80,396	$27,000	Full ROI →
28	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Grad rate: 93.2%	MI	+$633,252	$81,766	$33,345	$21,250	Full ROI →
29	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Grad rate: 52.1%	NM	+$628,695	$78,992	$20,973	$20,187	Full ROI →
30	Purdue University-Main Campus Grad rate: 83.1%	IN	+$624,187	$79,174	$22,567	$21,500	Full ROI →
31	University of Louisville Grad rate: 61.4%	KY	+$622,763	$80,758	$30,843	$21,500	Full ROI →
32	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Grad rate: 67.4%	AZ	+$617,547	$79,938	$28,047	$21,500	Full ROI →
33	Texas Tech University Grad rate: 67.1%	TX	+$615,872	$80,178	$27,472	$28,000	Full ROI →
34	Missouri University of Science and Technology Grad rate: 62.6%	MO	+$614,910	$79,513	$25,653	$24,250	Full ROI →
35	Texas A&M University-Kingsville Grad rate: 44.8%	TX	+$614,467	$78,762	$22,262	$23,500	Full ROI →
36	University of North Dakota Grad rate: 63.2%	ND	+$613,937	$79,432	$24,580	$26,950	Full ROI →
37	Cornell University Grad rate: 95.2%	NY	+$607,488	$89,983	$83,196	$14,361	Full ROI →
38	University of Arkansas Grad rate: 69.6%	AR	+$601,523	$78,844	$26,161	$22,750	Full ROI →
39	West Virginia University Institute of Technology Grad rate: 35.0%	WV	+$601,249	$77,273	$18,343	$22,843	Full ROI →
40	Wayne State University Grad rate: 58.3%	MI	+$600,699	$79,412	$26,794	$29,900	Full ROI →
41	Florida State University Grad rate: 83.9%	FL	+$596,440	$78,263	$23,683	$25,250	Full ROI →
42	University of Missouri-Columbia Grad rate: 75.7%	MO	+$595,124	$79,424	$28,948	$27,825	Full ROI →
43	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Grad rate: 84.6%	MN	+$590,949	$79,071	$29,013	$25,495	Full ROI →
44	University of South Carolina-Columbia Grad rate: 78.0%	SC	+$589,110	$79,846	$32,840	$27,000	Full ROI →
45	University of California-Davis Grad rate: 85.7%	CA	+$587,352	$80,061	$38,067	$16,000	Full ROI →
46	Ohio State University-Main Campus Grad rate: 87.9%	OH	+$584,225	$78,459	$29,320	$20,500	Full ROI →
47	Michigan Technological University Grad rate: 68.2%	MI	+$583,787	$79,370	$32,550	$24,750	Full ROI →
48	University of Akron Main Campus Grad rate: 48.0%	OH	+$581,683	$77,559	$24,555	$23,168	Full ROI →
49	University of California-Los Angeles Grad rate: 92.6%	CA	+$581,271	$79,621	$36,643	$18,205	Full ROI →
50	Carnegie Mellon University Grad rate: 92.0%	PA	+$581,265	$88,727	$80,514	$23,125	Full ROI →

How ROI is calculated

20-Year Net ROI = Gross Earnings (salary × 20) − Total Degree Cost − Debt Payoff (×1.35) − Baseline Opportunity Cost ($42,000 × 20). Data from the U.S. College Scorecard.

Find Best Chemical Engineering Degrees by State

Browse Chemical Engineering programs ranked by 20-year ROI in every state that offers this degree.