Best colleges for Mechanical Engineering

Ranked by median Mechanical Engineering graduate earnings (~10 years after entry) from College Scorecard’s field-of-study data — the financial outcome for that specific field, not a prestige ranking. Source-cited; model your own odds and net price at each.

#	College	Location	Mechanical Engineering earnings	Net price	Accept.
1	SUNY Maritime College	Throggs Neck, NY	$87,973	$22,367	72%
2	Caltech	Pasadena, CA	$83,177	$16,075	3%
3	Art Center College of Design	Pasadena, CA	$81,702	$48,661	75%
4	Duke	Durham, NC	$80,964	$29,612	6%
5	Penn	Philadelphia, PA	$80,858	$28,699	5%
6	University of Michigan-Dearborn	Dearborn, MI	$80,486	$9,492	56%
7	Kettering University	Flint, MI	$80,255	$34,660	79%
8	Oakland University	Rochester Hills, MI	$76,962	$9,120	88%
9	Lawrence Technological University	Southfield, MI	$76,170	$32,918	56%
10	Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	$76,070	$13,138	16%
11	Michigan State	East Lansing, MI	$75,936	$19,680	85%
12	Wayne State University	Detroit, MI	$75,921	$12,766	81%
13	UC Berkeley	Berkeley, CA	$75,518	$13,481	11%
14	Cornell	Ithaca, NY	$74,687	$28,690	9%
15	Santa Clara University	Santa Clara, CA	$74,576	$50,062	48%
16	Milwaukee School of Engineering	Milwaukee, WI	$74,200	$22,453	59%
17	Central Michigan University	Mount Pleasant, MI	$74,200	$17,597	90%
18	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	San Luis Obispo, CA	$74,038	$16,665	31%
19	Mississippi State University	Mississippi State, MS	$73,852	$17,595	78%
20	Lamar University	Beaumont, TX	$73,446	$9,366	86%
21	Saginaw Valley State University	University Center, MI	$73,378	$10,775	72%
22	Ohio State	Columbus, OH	$73,052	$17,339	61%
23	SMU	Dallas, TX	$73,035	$40,892	63%
24	Miami (FL)	Coral Gables, FL	$72,796	$37,244	19%
25	Northeastern	Boston, MA	$72,771	$30,915	5%
26	Rose-Hulman	Terre Haute, IN	$72,600	$42,513	77%
27	UT Austin	Austin, TX	$71,959	$19,857	27%
28	University of Toledo	Toledo, OH	$71,854	$17,249	92%
29	Michigan Technological University	Houghton, MI	$71,637	$14,182	92%
30	Wisconsin	Madison, WI	$71,633	$17,354	45%
31	Villanova	Villanova, PA	$71,575	$43,756	27%
32	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	Baton Rouge, LA	$71,402	$19,151	73%
33	Notre Dame	Notre Dame, IN	$71,320	$26,780	11%
34	Purdue	West Lafayette, IN	$71,255	$14,600	50%
35	University of Houston	Houston, TX	$71,202	$14,276	74%
36	Johns Hopkins	Baltimore, MD	$71,015	$18,809	6%
37	University of Michigan-Flint	Flint, MI	$70,776	$7,007	70%
38	Western Michigan University	Kalamazoo, MI	$70,776	$15,273	85%
39	Ohio Northern University	Ada, OH	$70,680	$24,478	74%
40	Georgia Tech	Atlanta, GA	$70,672	$12,116	14%
41	New York Institute of Technology	Old Westbury, NY	$70,456	$22,443	81%
42	Youngstown State University	Youngstown, OH	$70,176	$12,767	84%
43	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, VA	$70,163	$24,953	55%
44	Case Western	Cleveland, OH	$69,854	$41,190	37%
45	Vanderbilt	Nashville, TN	$69,817	$15,846	6%
46	Prairie View A & M University	Prairie View, TX	$69,757	$13,570	79%
47	Maryland	College Park, MD	$69,691	$15,678	45%
48	Central Connecticut State University	New Britain, CT	$69,617	$16,857	73%
49	Texas Tech University	Lubbock, TX	$69,596	$19,070	73%
50	Ferris State University	Big Rapids, MI	$69,535	$8,624	91%

Quick answers

How are the best colleges for Mechanical Engineering ranked?: By the median earnings of Mechanical Engineering graduates ~10 years after entry, from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard field-of-study data. It measures financial outcomes for that specific field at each school — not overall prestige or how hard it is to get in.
Does a higher rank mean the program is better, or easier to enter?: Neither on its own. It means graduates of that field tend to earn more — which reflects the field, the school, and who enrolls. Admission difficulty is separate: use each school's acceptance rate here, then run your personalized odds. Earnings also lag ~2 years and cover federally-aided graduates.
Why isn't every college listed?: We only rank schools where College Scorecard reports field-of-study earnings for Mechanical Engineering among the school's programs, so coverage grows as more institutions report. A missing school isn't a judgment — we just don't have verified Mechanical Engineering earnings for it yet.

Model my odds at these →Other majors →

Earnings are field-of-study medians from College Scorecard and lag ~2 years; they cover federally-aided graduates, not every student, and are not a guarantee of individual outcomes.

These outputs are estimates from a baseline model — not guarantees of admission, cost, or outcome.

Best colleges for Mechanical Engineering

#	College	Location	Mechanical Engineering earnings	Net price	Accept.
1	SUNY Maritime College	Throggs Neck, NY	$87,973	$22,367	72%
2	Caltech	Pasadena, CA	$83,177	$16,075	3%
3	Art Center College of Design	Pasadena, CA	$81,702	$48,661	75%
4	Duke	Durham, NC	$80,964	$29,612	6%
5	Penn	Philadelphia, PA	$80,858	$28,699	5%
6	University of Michigan-Dearborn	Dearborn, MI	$80,486	$9,492	56%
7	Kettering University	Flint, MI	$80,255	$34,660	79%
8	Oakland University	Rochester Hills, MI	$76,962	$9,120	88%
9	Lawrence Technological University	Southfield, MI	$76,170	$32,918	56%
10	Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	$76,070	$13,138	16%
11	Michigan State	East Lansing, MI	$75,936	$19,680	85%
12	Wayne State University	Detroit, MI	$75,921	$12,766	81%
13	UC Berkeley	Berkeley, CA	$75,518	$13,481	11%
14	Cornell	Ithaca, NY	$74,687	$28,690	9%
15	Santa Clara University	Santa Clara, CA	$74,576	$50,062	48%
16	Milwaukee School of Engineering	Milwaukee, WI	$74,200	$22,453	59%
17	Central Michigan University	Mount Pleasant, MI	$74,200	$17,597	90%
18	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	San Luis Obispo, CA	$74,038	$16,665	31%
19	Mississippi State University	Mississippi State, MS	$73,852	$17,595	78%
20	Lamar University	Beaumont, TX	$73,446	$9,366	86%
21	Saginaw Valley State University	University Center, MI	$73,378	$10,775	72%
22	Ohio State	Columbus, OH	$73,052	$17,339	61%
23	SMU	Dallas, TX	$73,035	$40,892	63%
24	Miami (FL)	Coral Gables, FL	$72,796	$37,244	19%
25	Northeastern	Boston, MA	$72,771	$30,915	5%
26	Rose-Hulman	Terre Haute, IN	$72,600	$42,513	77%
27	UT Austin	Austin, TX	$71,959	$19,857	27%
28	University of Toledo	Toledo, OH	$71,854	$17,249	92%
29	Michigan Technological University	Houghton, MI	$71,637	$14,182	92%
30	Wisconsin	Madison, WI	$71,633	$17,354	45%
31	Villanova	Villanova, PA	$71,575	$43,756	27%
32	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	Baton Rouge, LA	$71,402	$19,151	73%
33	Notre Dame	Notre Dame, IN	$71,320	$26,780	11%
34	Purdue	West Lafayette, IN	$71,255	$14,600	50%
35	University of Houston	Houston, TX	$71,202	$14,276	74%
36	Johns Hopkins	Baltimore, MD	$71,015	$18,809	6%
37	University of Michigan-Flint	Flint, MI	$70,776	$7,007	70%
38	Western Michigan University	Kalamazoo, MI	$70,776	$15,273	85%
39	Ohio Northern University	Ada, OH	$70,680	$24,478	74%
40	Georgia Tech	Atlanta, GA	$70,672	$12,116	14%
41	New York Institute of Technology	Old Westbury, NY	$70,456	$22,443	81%
42	Youngstown State University	Youngstown, OH	$70,176	$12,767	84%
43	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, VA	$70,163	$24,953	55%
44	Case Western	Cleveland, OH	$69,854	$41,190	37%
45	Vanderbilt	Nashville, TN	$69,817	$15,846	6%
46	Prairie View A & M University	Prairie View, TX	$69,757	$13,570	79%
47	Maryland	College Park, MD	$69,691	$15,678	45%
48	Central Connecticut State University	New Britain, CT	$69,617	$16,857	73%
49	Texas Tech University	Lubbock, TX	$69,596	$19,070	73%
50	Ferris State University	Big Rapids, MI	$69,535	$8,624	91%

Quick answers

How are the best colleges for Mechanical Engineering ranked?

By the median earnings of Mechanical Engineering graduates ~10 years after entry, from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard field-of-study data. It measures financial outcomes for that specific field at each school — not overall prestige or how hard it is to get in.

Does a higher rank mean the program is better, or easier to enter?

Neither on its own. It means graduates of that field tend to earn more — which reflects the field, the school, and who enrolls. Admission difficulty is separate: use each school's acceptance rate here, then run your personalized odds. Earnings also lag ~2 years and cover federally-aided graduates.

Why isn't every college listed?

We only rank schools where College Scorecard reports field-of-study earnings for Mechanical Engineering among the school's programs, so coverage grows as more institutions report. A missing school isn't a judgment — we just don't have verified Mechanical Engineering earnings for it yet.

Earnings are field-of-study medians from College Scorecard and lag ~2 years; they cover federally-aided graduates, not every student, and are not a guarantee of individual outcomes.

These outputs are estimates from a baseline model — not guarantees of admission, cost, or outcome.