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Best Schools for Industrial Engineering

Industrial Engineering graduates earn a median of $67,367 within two years of graduation, ranking #15 out of 292 tracked majors — 90% above the median across all fields. There are 82 colleges nationwide with tracked earnings for this major, producing 4,001 recent graduates.

Where you study matters: University of Connecticut graduates earn $82,440 while Universidad Politecnica de Puerto Rico graduates earn $25,194 — a $57,246 difference. Factors like location, employer networks, co-op programs, and curriculum focus drive this gap.

Early career salary growth is modest: Industrial Engineering graduates see an average 2% increase between year 1 and year 2 post-graduation, reflecting career advancement and skill development in the first years after college.

82
Schools
$67,367
Avg. 2yr Earnings
#15
of 292 Majors
4,001
Graduates

Public vs Private: Industrial Engineering

Public (66 schools)
$67,677
avg. 2yr earnings
Private (14 schools)
$68,779
avg. 2yr earnings

Private schools produce $1,102 more in early earnings on average for Industrial Engineering graduates. Factor in tuition difference to calculate which offers better ROI.

Industrial Engineering by State

Texas
6 schools
$64,917
Connecticut
5 schools
$82,440
Illinois
5 schools
$69,102
New York
5 schools
$69,459
California
4 schools
$69,975
Michigan
4 schools
$73,496
Ohio
4 schools
$64,416
Wisconsin
4 schools
$67,611

Top Industrial Engineering Schools by Graduate Earnings

#1
U

University of Connecticut

Storrs, CT · Public

$82,440
2yr Earnings
1yr: $72,315
Grads: 24
Acceptance: 53.9%
#2
U

University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus

Waterbury, CT · Public

$82,440
2yr Earnings
1yr: $72,315
Grads: 24
Acceptance: 87.0%
#3
U

University of Connecticut-Avery Point

Groton, CT · Public

$82,440
2yr Earnings
1yr: $72,315
Grads: 24
Acceptance: 86.5%
#4
U

University of Connecticut-Stamford

Stamford, CT · Public

$82,440
2yr Earnings
1yr: $72,315
Grads: 24
Acceptance: 80.2%
#5
U

University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus

Hartford, CT · Public

$82,440
2yr Earnings
1yr: $72,315
Grads: 24
Acceptance: 86.5%
#6
N

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL · Private

$79,849
2yr Earnings
1yr: $84,644
Grads: 54
Acceptance: 7.1%
#7
S

SUNY Maritime College

Throggs Neck, NY · Public

$79,081
2yr Earnings
1yr: $74,670
Grads: 17
Acceptance: 78.5%
#8
U

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA · Private

$78,029
2yr Earnings
1yr: $70,709
Grads: 44
Acceptance: 10.0%
#9
W

Wayne State University

Detroit, MI · Public

$77,401
2yr Earnings
Acceptance: 82.0%
#10
U

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI · Public

$77,235
2yr Earnings
1yr: $75,644
Grads: 166
Acceptance: 17.9%
#11
R

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, NY · Private

$77,213
2yr Earnings
1yr: $65,458
Grads: 49
Acceptance: 58.5%
#12
W

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester, MA · Private

$76,460
2yr Earnings
1yr: $72,720
Grads: 20
Acceptance: 58.5%
#13
G

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

Atlanta, GA · Public

$76,283
2yr Earnings
1yr: $74,354
Grads: 241
Acceptance: 16.5%
#14
U

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, IL · Public

$75,775
2yr Earnings
1yr: $68,901
Grads: 37
Acceptance: 43.7%
#15
O

Ohio State University-Main Campus

Columbus, OH · Public

$75,667
2yr Earnings
1yr: $70,911
Grads: 92
Acceptance: 50.8%
#16
L

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA · Private

$75,623
2yr Earnings
1yr: $72,069
Grads: 32
Acceptance: 29.3%
#17
L

Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

Baton Rouge, LA · Public

$73,949
2yr Earnings
1yr: $60,658
Grads: 44
Acceptance: 74.0%
#18
C

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, CA · Public

$73,562
2yr Earnings
1yr: $72,643
Grads: 70
Acceptance: 29.8%
#19
U

University of Houston

Houston, TX · Public

$73,530
2yr Earnings
1yr: $72,713
Grads: 31
Acceptance: 69.5%
#20
U

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Madison, WI · Public

$72,895
2yr Earnings
1yr: $74,061
Grads: 51
Acceptance: 43.4%
#21
Y

Youngstown State University

Youngstown, OH · Public

$71,957
2yr Earnings
1yr: $60,563
Grads: 18
Acceptance: 80.3%
#22
U

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, AR · Public

$71,854
2yr Earnings
1yr: $67,048
Grads: 59
Acceptance: 71.7%
#23
F

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL · Public

$71,643
2yr Earnings
1yr: $65,561
Grads: 35
Acceptance: 25.4%
#24
U

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA · Public

$71,351
2yr Earnings
1yr: $67,231
Grads: 41
Acceptance: 84.7%
#25
V

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Blacksburg, VA · Public

$70,628
2yr Earnings
1yr: $70,925
Grads: 117
Acceptance: 57.0%
#26
K

Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS · Public

$70,456
2yr Earnings
1yr: $72,147
Grads: 48
Acceptance: 79.4%
#27
N

North Carolina State University at Raleigh

Raleigh, NC · Public

$70,253
2yr Earnings
1yr: $66,081
Grads: 73
Acceptance: 39.9%
#28
U

University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus

Norman, OK · Public

$70,176
2yr Earnings
1yr: $68,265
Grads: 46
Acceptance: 76.5%
#29
P

Purdue University-Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN · Public

$70,057
2yr Earnings
1yr: $70,780
Grads: 111
Acceptance: 50.3%
#30
K

Kettering University

Flint, MI · Private

$70,009
2yr Earnings
Acceptance: 79.1%
#31
U

University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus

Pittsburgh, PA · Public

$69,835
2yr Earnings
1yr: $70,813
Grads: 81
Acceptance: 49.7%
#32
M

Mississippi State University

Mississippi State, MS · Public

$69,710
2yr Earnings
1yr: $63,878
Grads: 33
Acceptance: 76.3%
#33
I

Indiana Institute of Technology

Fort Wayne, IN · Private

$69,338
2yr Earnings
Acceptance: 56.9%
#34
M

Morgan State University

Baltimore, MD · Public

$69,338
2yr Earnings
1yr: $66,187
Grads: 19
Acceptance: 83.0%
#35
U

University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Amherst, MA · Public

$69,338
2yr Earnings
1yr: $72,455
Grads: 28
Acceptance: 57.8%
#36
W

Western Michigan University

Kalamazoo, MI · Public

$69,338
2yr Earnings
1yr: $69,454
Grads: 25
Acceptance: 84.7%
#37
U

University of Missouri-Columbia

Columbia, MO · Public

$69,338
2yr Earnings
1yr: $70,396
Grads: 38
Acceptance: 77.0%
#38
T

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Knoxville, TN · Public

$69,338
2yr Earnings
1yr: $72,052
Grads: 37
Acceptance: 46.0%
#39
I

Indiana Institute of Technology-College of Professional Studies

Fort Wayne, IN ·

$69,338
2yr Earnings
Acceptance: N/A
#40
C

Clemson University

Clemson, SC · Public

$68,592
2yr Earnings
1yr: $65,182
Grads: 99
Acceptance: 38.0%
#41
R

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester, NY · Private

$68,219
2yr Earnings
1yr: $71,306
Grads: 28
Acceptance: 71.4%
#42
I

Iowa State University

Ames, IA · Public

$68,101
2yr Earnings
1yr: $67,086
Grads: 120
Acceptance: 89.1%
#43
W

West Virginia University

Morgantown, WV · Public

$68,047
2yr Earnings
1yr: $66,292
Grads: 105
Acceptance: 86.3%
#44
B

Bradley University

Peoria, IL · Private

$67,899
2yr Earnings
1yr: $66,979
Grads: 26
Acceptance: 76.7%
#45
U

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN · Public

$67,846
2yr Earnings
1yr: $67,765
Grads: 76
Acceptance: 77.0%
#46
T

Texas A&M University-College Station

College Station, TX · Public

$67,571
2yr Earnings
1yr: $67,166
Grads: 240
Acceptance: 63.2%
#47
O

Oregon State University

Corvallis, OR · Public

$67,420
2yr Earnings
1yr: $65,943
Grads: 45
Acceptance: 78.8%
#48
O

Oregon State University-Cascades Campus

Bend, OR · Public

$67,420
2yr Earnings
1yr: $65,943
Grads: 45
Acceptance: 68.4%
#49
C

California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

Pomona, CA · Public

$67,287
2yr Earnings
1yr: $65,420
Grads: 90
Acceptance: 73.7%
#50
T

The University of Texas at Arlington

Arlington, TX · Public

$67,202
2yr Earnings
1yr: $58,154
Grads: 46
Acceptance: 81.3%

Showing top 50 of 82 schools. View all or filter by state above.

Majors with Similar Earnings

Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering $69,487 Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology $68,764 Computer Science $67,769 Computational Science $67,660 Manufacturing Engineering $67,653 Chemical Engineering $66,453

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Industrial Engineering?
University of Connecticut ranks #1 for Industrial Engineering with median graduate earnings of $82,440 within two years. There are 82 schools nationwide offering this major with tracked earnings data.
How much do Industrial Engineering graduates earn?
Industrial Engineering graduates earn an average of $67,367 within two years of graduation. This is 90% above the median across all majors. Earnings range from $25,194 to $82,440 depending on the school.
How hard is it to get into a top Industrial Engineering program?
The average acceptance rate across Industrial Engineering programs is 63.8%. The most selective program is at Northeastern University with a 5.7% acceptance rate. Competitive programs value strong math/analytical skills and relevant coursework.
Is a public or private school better for Industrial Engineering?
Private Industrial Engineering programs average $68,779 in early earnings vs $67,677 at public schools. Private schools lead in earnings, but cost significantly more — calculate net price before deciding.

Data updated June 2026. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median 2 years after graduation for bachelor's degree holders.

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