Best Mechanical 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

293

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

+$448,577

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$38,368

Cost of attendance

# College State 20-Yr Net ROI Median Salary Annual Cost Avg Debt
1 SUNY Maritime College

Grad rate: 73.9%

 NY +$969,920 $98,027 $28,880 $26,000 Full ROI →
2 The University of Texas Permian Basin

Grad rate: 41.3%

 TX +$840,599 $89,641 $21,727 $18,750 Full ROI →
3 Lamar University

Grad rate: 37.4%

 TX +$827,466 $89,656 $21,626 $29,000 Full ROI →
4 California State University Maritime Academy

Grad rate: 64.9%

 CA +$804,626 $88,988 $27,138 $19,690 Full ROI →
5 University of Michigan-Dearborn

Grad rate: 56.3%

 MI +$743,707 $85,289 $22,435 $23,950 Full ROI →
6 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Grad rate: 85.3%

 CA +$732,653 $86,000 $29,918 $20,500 Full ROI →
7 Wayne State University

Grad rate: 58.3%

 MI +$723,935 $85,185 $26,794 $24,140 Full ROI →
8 Stanford University

Grad rate: 94.0%

 CA +$716,452 $94,255 $82,162 N/A Full ROI →
9 San Jose State University

Grad rate: 66.2%

 CA +$711,700 $82,724 $25,695 N/A Full ROI →
10 Santa Clara University

Grad rate: 88.5%

 CA +$708,363 $94,288 $77,768 $19,500 Full ROI →
11 University of California-Berkeley

Grad rate: 93.5%

 CA +$690,448 $85,955 $42,708 $13,200 Full ROI →
12 Oakland University

Grad rate: 57.3%

 MI +$670,886 $82,235 $25,016 $25,000 Full ROI →
13 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Grad rate: 93.2%

 MI +$668,617 $83,568 $33,345 $21,750 Full ROI →
14 Brigham Young University

Grad rate: 80.4%

 UT +$663,669 $80,068 $20,879 $10,500 Full ROI →
15 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

Grad rate: 70.4%

 LA +$658,253 $83,027 $34,328 $18,500 Full ROI →
16 New Mexico State University-Main Campus

Grad rate: 51.6%

 NM +$655,375 $80,221 $20,930 $18,759 Full ROI →
17 CUNY City College

Grad rate: 56.6%

 NY +$655,300 $78,361 $13,514 $13,232 Full ROI →
18 The University of Texas at Austin

Grad rate: 87.7%

 TX +$650,699 $81,769 $29,842 $18,750 Full ROI →
19 University of California-Los Angeles

Grad rate: 92.6%

 CA +$643,738 $82,663 $36,643 $17,000 Full ROI →
20 California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

Grad rate: 66.5%

 CA +$641,587 $79,792 $22,672 $17,455 Full ROI →
21 Carnegie Mellon University

Grad rate: 92.0%

 PA +$640,615 $91,671 $80,514 $22,777 Full ROI →
22 University of Wisconsin-Madison

Grad rate: 89.3%

 WI +$639,125 $80,894 $27,770 $20,500 Full ROI →
23 Michigan State University

Grad rate: 81.9%

 MI +$633,168 $81,384 $30,528 $24,000 Full ROI →
24 Ohio State University-Main Campus

Grad rate: 87.9%

 OH +$630,945 $80,795 $29,320 $20,500 Full ROI →
25 Texas A&M University-College Station

Grad rate: 83.7%

 TX +$626,435 $81,055 $32,085 $19,500 Full ROI →
26 Duke University

Grad rate: 96.2%

 NC +$618,564 $90,153 $82,749 $10,000 Full ROI →
27 Johns Hopkins University

Grad rate: 94.3%

 MD +$612,147 $89,593 $81,300 $10,750 Full ROI →
28 San Diego State University

Grad rate: 78.1%

 CA +$610,580 $79,350 $27,357 $19,994 Full ROI →
29 Purdue University-Main Campus

Grad rate: 83.1%

 IN +$610,137 $78,366 $22,567 $19,937 Full ROI →
30 Mississippi State University

Grad rate: 63.0%

 MS +$608,117 $79,309 $26,922 $22,500 Full ROI →
31 University of Maryland-College Park

Grad rate: 88.9%

 MD +$604,873 $79,242 $28,073 $20,500 Full ROI →
32 University of Michigan-Flint

Grad rate: 45.5%

 MI +$601,194 $78,818 $23,329 $31,000 Full ROI →
33 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Grad rate: 95.5%

 MA +$597,579 $88,614 $79,850 $11,334 Full ROI →
34 New York Institute of Technology

Grad rate: 55.4%

 NY +$596,186 $84,372 $53,625 $27,225 Full ROI →
35 University of Houston

Grad rate: 64.0%

 TX +$594,936 $78,108 $25,056 $20,000 Full ROI →
36 University of Toledo

Grad rate: 55.2%

 OH +$589,635 $77,928 $26,190 $17,900 Full ROI →
37 Kettering University

Grad rate: 70.0%

 MI +$589,620 $85,093 $58,610 $28,000 Full ROI →
38 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

Grad rate: 92.4%

 GA +$588,842 $78,824 $27,797 $27,000 Full ROI →
39 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Grad rate: 84.8%

 IL +$587,349 $79,178 $32,134 $20,500 Full ROI →
40 University of Washington-Bothell Campus

Grad rate: 68.5%

 WA +$585,722 $77,191 $24,462 $15,000 Full ROI →
41 California State University-Northridge

Grad rate: 56.1%

 CA +$583,712 $76,464 $20,317 $18,000 Full ROI →
42 Central Michigan University

Grad rate: 61.8%

 MI +$581,870 $78,210 $26,470 $27,000 Full ROI →
43 Oklahoma State University-Main Campus

Grad rate: 65.4%

 OK +$577,837 $77,543 $25,915 $21,750 Full ROI →
44 Florida International University

Grad rate: 71.3%

 FL +$576,653 $76,277 $20,556 $19,750 Full ROI →
45 University of Pennsylvania

Grad rate: 96.5%

 PA +$575,813 $88,779 $85,738 $12,455 Full ROI →
46 Central Connecticut State University

Grad rate: 51.3%

 CT +$572,591 $76,973 $24,112 $22,534 Full ROI →
47 Arizona State University Campus Immersion

Grad rate: 67.4%

 AZ +$572,497 $77,618 $28,047 $20,500 Full ROI →
48 University of Hawaii at Manoa

Grad rate: 62.5%

 HI +$572,040 $77,099 $23,832 $25,638 Full ROI →
49 Stony Brook University

Grad rate: 77.8%

 NY +$568,553 $77,613 $29,174 $20,008 Full ROI →
50 University of Miami

Grad rate: 84.2%

 FL +$567,478 $87,198 $77,708 $19,000 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 Mechanical Engineering Degrees by State

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

Alabama Best Mechanical Engineering → Alaska Best Mechanical Engineering → Arizona Best Mechanical Engineering → Arkansas Best Mechanical Engineering → California Best Mechanical Engineering → Colorado Best Mechanical Engineering → Connecticut Best Mechanical Engineering → Delaware Best Mechanical Engineering → Florida Best Mechanical Engineering → Georgia Best Mechanical Engineering → Hawaii Best Mechanical Engineering → Idaho Best Mechanical Engineering → Illinois Best Mechanical Engineering → Indiana Best Mechanical Engineering → Iowa Best Mechanical Engineering → Kansas Best Mechanical Engineering → Kentucky Best Mechanical Engineering → Louisiana Best Mechanical Engineering → Maine Best Mechanical Engineering → Maryland Best Mechanical Engineering → Massachusetts Best Mechanical Engineering → Michigan Best Mechanical Engineering → Minnesota Best Mechanical Engineering → Mississippi Best Mechanical Engineering → Missouri Best Mechanical Engineering → Montana Best Mechanical Engineering → Nebraska Best Mechanical Engineering → Nevada Best Mechanical Engineering → New Hampshire Best Mechanical Engineering → New Jersey Best Mechanical Engineering → New Mexico Best Mechanical Engineering → New York Best Mechanical Engineering → North Carolina Best Mechanical Engineering → North Dakota Best Mechanical Engineering → Ohio Best Mechanical Engineering → Oklahoma Best Mechanical Engineering → Oregon Best Mechanical Engineering → Pennsylvania Best Mechanical Engineering → Rhode Island Best Mechanical Engineering → South Carolina Best Mechanical Engineering → South Dakota Best Mechanical Engineering → Tennessee Best Mechanical Engineering → Texas Best Mechanical Engineering → Utah Best Mechanical Engineering → Vermont Best Mechanical Engineering → Virginia Best Mechanical Engineering → Washington Best Mechanical Engineering → West Virginia Best Mechanical Engineering → Wisconsin Best Mechanical Engineering → Wyoming Best Mechanical Engineering →