Best Colleges for Education: Ranked by Graduate Salary, Not Prestige
We rank by what graduates actually earn — not by reputation surveys.
Top Schools for Education — Ranked by Graduate Salary
These schools produce the highest-earning Education graduates, based on federal earnings data. We rank by salary outcomes, not prestige.
| # | School | Education Salary | Acceptance Rate | Degrees/Year | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brown University Providence, RI |
$58,900 | 5.2% | 15 | Reach |
| 2 | Duke University Durham, NC |
$58,900 | 6.8% | 17 | Reach |
| 3 | New York University (NYU) New York, NY |
$58,900 | 9.4% | 85 | Reach |
| 4 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL |
$58,900 | 7.1% | 5 | Reach |
| 5 | UCLA Los Angeles, CA |
$58,900 | 9.0% | 99 | Reach |
| 6 | University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI |
$51,300 | 17.9% | 70 | Match |
| 7 | University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC |
$51,300 | 18.7% | 114 | Match |
| 8 | University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA |
$51,300 | 16.9% | 37 | Match |
| 9 | UC Irvine Irvine, CA |
$47,500 | 25.6% | 287 | Match |
| 10 | UC San Diego La Jolla, CA |
$47,500 | 24.5% | 56 | Match |
| 11 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL |
$47,500 | 24.0% | 229 | Match |
| 12 | UC Davis Davis, CA |
$43,700 | 41.6% | 13 | Safety |
| 13 | University of Illinois Champaign, IL |
$43,700 | 43.7% | 174 | Safety |
| 14 | University of Rochester Rochester, NY |
$43,700 | 35.9% | 6 | Match |
| 15 | University of Washington Seattle, WA |
$43,700 | 42.5% | 236 | Safety |
| 16 | Ohio State University Columbus, OH |
$39,900 | 50.8% | 356 | Safety |
| 17 | UC Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA |
$39,900 | 62.5% | 69 | Safety |
| 18 | University of Connecticut Storrs, CT |
$39,900 | 53.9% | 139 | Safety |
| 19 | University of Texas at Austin College Station, TX |
$39,900 | 63.2% | 308 | Safety |
| 20 | Drexel University Philadelphia, PA |
$38,000 | 77.5% | 35 | Safety |
| 21 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI |
$38,000 | 83.9% | 235 | Safety |
| 22 | Purdue University Iowa City, IA |
$38,000 | 84.7% | 176 | Safety |
| 23 | University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL |
$38,000 | 75.8% | 177 | Safety |
| 24 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO |
$38,000 | 83.3% | 81 | Safety |
| 25 | University of Kentucky Lexington, KY |
$38,000 | 92.4% | 369 | Safety |
| 26 | University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN |
$38,000 | 77.0% | 351 | Safety |
| 27 | University of Nebraska Lincoln, NE |
$38,000 | 77.1% | 288 | Safety |
Data source: IPEDS, College Scorecard.