Georgetown early-career alumni are among the highest-paid college graduates in the nation, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education, which measured the earnings of students who received federal aid like Pell Grants, federal loans and work study.
Hoyas who received federal aid earn a median salary of $120,000 four years after graduating — a number double the average salary of graduates of other four-year colleges.
Georgetown tied for 14th place among all universities with graduates who make the most out of college.
The data is compiled by the Department of Education’s College Scoreboard, which lists factors like college costs, student debt and post-college earnings to help prospective students evaluate colleges and universities.
The median earnings, which were updated this spring, were measured in 2022 and 2023 from students who received federal financial aid, were employed and not enrolled in school.
The highest-paid graduates studied international business; finance and financial management services; computer science; health and medical administrative services; and accounting at Georgetown.
Georgetown also ranked #1 in return on investment for students from low-income backgrounds, according to the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW), which analyzes the College Scoreboard’s data.
The university’s ranking reflects the percentage of students who receive Pell Grants, awarded by the Department of Education to undergraduate students who demonstrate significant financial need; their graduation rates and the percentile rank of 40-year earnings of Pell Grant students.
In the wake of new graduates entering a challenging job market, flanked by concerns over AI and a high unemployment rate, there is good news on the horizon for college graduates.
By 2031, 85% of jobs will go to graduates with higher levels of education, according to a report from the CEW.
“We foresee substantially more good jobs by 2031, spurred by greater productivity enabled by new technologies, stronger growth among high-skill/high-wage occupations, and continued political pressure on policymakers to deliver on job quality for workers, not just low unemployment,” said Jeff Strohl, CEW director and lead author of the report.
