Best Civil 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

215

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

+$352,331

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$35,079

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	Carnegie Mellon University Grad rate: 92.0%	PA	+$713,324	$93,769	$80,514	N/A	Full ROI →
2	San Jose State University Grad rate: 66.2%	CA	+$703,680	$82,323	$25,695	N/A	Full ROI →
3	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo Grad rate: 85.3%	CA	+$669,435	$82,834	$29,918	$20,424	Full ROI →
4	University of Alaska Fairbanks Grad rate: 35.3%	AK	+$642,769	$79,303	$21,182	$13,750	Full ROI →
5	California State University-Chico Grad rate: 63.9%	CA	+$614,662	$79,308	$25,590	$21,583	Full ROI →
6	Santa Clara University Grad rate: 88.5%	CA	+$609,868	$88,047	$77,768	N/A	Full ROI →
7	University of California-Berkeley Grad rate: 93.5%	CA	+$579,398	$80,483	$42,708	$14,392	Full ROI →
8	George Washington University Grad rate: 85.0%	DC	+$577,612	$87,026	$80,727	N/A	Full ROI →
9	University of California-Los Angeles Grad rate: 92.6%	CA	+$572,758	$79,279	$36,643	$19,444	Full ROI →
10	University of Arizona Grad rate: 66.9%	AZ	+$536,253	$75,770	$28,543	$18,500	Full ROI →
11	University of North Dakota Grad rate: 63.2%	ND	+$535,850	$75,504	$24,580	$26,600	Full ROI →
12	University of California-Davis Grad rate: 85.7%	CA	+$535,795	$77,490	$38,067	$16,101	Full ROI →
13	San Francisco State University Grad rate: 52.2%	CA	+$535,009	$75,076	$25,258	$18,873	Full ROI →
14	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Grad rate: 66.5%	CA	+$531,377	$74,217	$22,672	$16,500	Full ROI →
15	University of Southern California Grad rate: 92.2%	CA	+$529,939	$85,981	$84,678	$8,125	Full ROI →
16	California State University-Sacramento Grad rate: 55.1%	CA	+$521,526	$73,910	$22,714	$19,124	Full ROI →
17	CUNY City College Grad rate: 56.6%	NY	+$519,099	$71,839	$13,514	$17,500	Full ROI →
18	Vanderbilt University Grad rate: 92.7%	TN	+$516,672	$84,716	$84,412	N/A	Full ROI →
19	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Grad rate: 59.7%	CT	+$514,808	$73,532	$20,917	$23,825	Full ROI →
20	California State University-Los Angeles Grad rate: 52.0%	CA	+$513,472	$72,371	$17,153	$18,767	Full ROI →
21	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Grad rate: 57.8%	CT	+$512,064	$73,532	$21,603	$23,825	Full ROI →
22	California State University-Long Beach Grad rate: 71.3%	CA	+$507,970	$72,570	$20,310	$16,437	Full ROI →
23	California State University-Fullerton Grad rate: 69.3%	CA	+$507,062	$71,621	$16,767	$13,548	Full ROI →
24	Florida International University Grad rate: 71.3%	FL	+$500,348	$72,563	$20,556	$21,250	Full ROI →
25	California State University-Fresno Grad rate: 55.5%	CA	+$498,589	$71,690	$18,650	$15,267	Full ROI →
26	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Grad rate: 63.9%	CT	+$498,352	$73,532	$25,031	$23,825	Full ROI →
27	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Grad rate: 84.0%	WA	+$497,212	$73,921	$30,282	$14,874	Full ROI →
28	University of Maryland-College Park Grad rate: 88.9%	MD	+$495,688	$73,846	$28,073	$21,437	Full ROI →
29	Manhattan University Grad rate: 69.1%	NY	+$489,702	$80,815	$62,537	$27,000	Full ROI →
30	University of Connecticut-Stamford Grad rate: 59.5%	CT	+$487,528	$73,532	$27,737	$23,825	Full ROI →
31	San Diego State University Grad rate: 78.1%	CA	+$484,218	$73,021	$27,357	$19,832	Full ROI →
32	Prairie View A & M University Grad rate: 42.4%	TX	+$481,688	$71,276	$25,958	N/A	Full ROI →
33	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Grad rate: 92.4%	GA	+$480,000	$73,109	$27,797	$22,957	Full ROI →
34	University of Wisconsin-Madison Grad rate: 89.3%	WI	+$474,532	$72,850	$27,770	$23,250	Full ROI →
35	Rice University Grad rate: 94.7%	TX	+$470,840	$80,364	$74,110	N/A	Full ROI →
36	University of Alaska Anchorage Grad rate: 29.4%	AK	+$467,498	$71,837	$21,848	$31,000	Full ROI →
37	Texas A&M University-College Station Grad rate: 83.7%	TX	+$462,535	$72,860	$32,085	$19,500	Full ROI →
38	George Mason University Grad rate: 69.9%	VA	+$460,685	$72,036	$26,972	$23,812	Full ROI →
39	The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Grad rate: 52.7%	TN	+$459,419	$71,084	$23,563	$20,747	Full ROI →
40	Cornell University Grad rate: 95.2%	NY	+$458,323	$82,416	$83,196	$12,750	Full ROI →
41	University of Louisville Grad rate: 61.4%	KY	+$457,228	$72,684	$30,843	$24,503	Full ROI →
42	University of Notre Dame Grad rate: 96.6%	IN	+$455,981	$82,198	$80,211	$20,100	Full ROI →
43	University of Virginia-Main Campus Grad rate: 95.3%	VA	+$453,972	$73,331	$38,132	$14,903	Full ROI →
44	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Grad rate: 93.2%	MI	+$453,607	$72,615	$33,345	$18,750	Full ROI →
45	University of Florida Grad rate: 90.7%	FL	+$453,040	$70,354	$21,719	$20,121	Full ROI →
46	University of Connecticut Grad rate: 83.5%	CT	+$452,188	$73,532	$36,572	$23,825	Full ROI →
47	The University of Texas at Arlington Grad rate: 55.1%	TX	+$449,848	$70,932	$25,265	$20,542	Full ROI →
48	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Grad rate: 48.7%	NV	+$447,189	$69,784	$19,440	$22,763	Full ROI →
49	California Baptist University Grad rate: 61.2%	CA	+$446,458	$76,627	$52,408	$27,000	Full ROI →
50	Stevens Institute of Technology Grad rate: 88.9%	NJ	+$446,434	$81,434	$76,449	$27,000	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 Civil Engineering Degrees by State

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