Three Michigan universities ranked in the top 30 colleges in the United States in graduates’ salaries, according to the Wall Street Journal/College Pulse’s 2026 Best Salaries rankings released on Monday, Sept. 29.
Notably, the colleges ranked ahead of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, which ranked just outside the top 50.
Michigan Technological University was ranked No. 12 out of 584 colleges nationally this year for its impact on graduates’ salaries, ahead of Lehigh University and San José State University.
This year’s rankings were made in collaboration with College Pulse, an online college demographic survey platform, and Statista, an online data-gathering platform.
The rankings were determined based on a college’s impact on its graduates’ salaries beyond the expected earnings regardless of the university attended, the net price of attending the university and the value the college added to its graduates’ median salaries.
Wall Street Journal/College Pulse also released its 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. overall rankings.
A degree from Michigan Tech added $55,211 in value to a graduate’s salary, according to Wall Street Journal/College Pulse. It takes about an extra month to pay off the “average net price,” or annual cost of attendance including tuition and room/board.
Kettering University was No. 23 for overall best salaries, ahead of Claremont McKenna College and New Jersey Institute of Technology.
A degree from Kettering University added $73,369 to a graduate’s salary, according to Wall Street Journal/College Pulse. It takes about nine months extra to pay off the annual cost of attendance.
University of Detroit Mercy was ranked No. 52 overall, ahead of University of Delaware and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. A degree from the university added $42,169 to a graduate’s salary, according to Wall Street Journal/College Pulse.
It takes about an extra six months on average to pay off the annual cost of attendance at Detroit Mercy.
Behind these three Michigan colleges was UM-Ann Arbor at No. 55 nationally. A UM-Ann Arbor degree added $58,991 to a graduate’s salary, Wall Street Journal/College Pulse reported.
On average, it takes about a year to pay off the annual cost of attendance at UM-Ann Arbor.
The No. 1 spot on Wall Street Journal/College Pulse’s 2026 Best Salaries rankings list went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by Stanford University, Princeton University and Harvey Mudd College.
Fourteen additional Michigan colleges and universities appeared on the Best Salaries list:
Michigan State University at No. 133 and added $42,362 to a graduate’s salary
Oakland University at No. 169 and added $33,130 to a graduate’s salary
UM-Dearborn at No. 179 and added $35,138 to a graduate’s salary
Grand Valley State University at No. 233 and added $30,442 to a graduate’s salary
Central Michigan University at No. 290 and added $29,796 to a graduate’s salary
Western Michigan University at No. 378 and added $28,471 to a graduate’s salary
Wayne State University at No. 403 and added $26,582 to a graduate’s salary
Hope College at No. 414 and added $33,015 to a graduate’s salary
Eastern Michigan University at No. 423 and added $24,581 to a graduate’s salary
Calvin University at No. 468 and added $31,545 to a graduate’s salary
Andrews University at No. 471 and added $26,381 to a graduate’s salary
Alma College at No. 499 and added $28,984 to a graduate’s salary
Cornerstone University at No. 534 and added $21,060 to a graduate’s salary
Northern Michigan University at No. 562 and added $20,665 to a graduate’s salary
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