Mechanical Engineering at Cornell University

Ithaca, NY · Bachelor's Degree · about 132 graduates a year

$85,440
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$112,212
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$92,135
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#9 of 318
Rank by pay
#27 of 318
Rank, wage-adjusted
$15,500
Median federal debt

Cornell University graduates in mechanical engineering earn 22% more than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 14% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Cornell University Compares for Mechanical Engineering

All 318 colleges reporting mechanical engineering earnings at this degree level, ranked by median pay four years after graduation. “Wage-adjusted” divides pay by the square root of the state’s wage index so colleges in low-wage states aren’t penalized for local pay.

#College4 yrs afterWage-adjustedAdj. rank1 yr after
1Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA$131,967$116,211#3$83,957
2California State University Maritime Academy Vallejo, CA$126,395$115,011#5$92,315
3Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA$122,111$111,113#10$81,865
4Duke University Durham, NC$120,991$129,841#1$89,938
5University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA$119,371$108,620#16$88,497
6Stanford University Stanford, CA$117,072$106,528#28—
7Princeton University Princeton, NJ$115,927$101,747#53$85,328
8University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA$114,492$116,439#2$66,876
9Cornell University Ithaca, NY$112,212$106,803#27$85,440
10Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY$111,491$106,116#32$72,036
11Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD$110,210$96,722#102—
12Rice University Houston, TX$108,970$110,791#11$82,899

Other Mechanical Engineering Credentials at Cornell University

Credential1 yr after4 yrs afterMedian debt
Master's Degree$99,587$128,130$21,805

Other Majors at Cornell University by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Computer Science$223,309$152,656#3 of 349
Operations Research$151,709$96,377—
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$147,241$100,516#4 of 258
Agricultural Business and Management$145,218$92,163#1 of 77
Computer and Information Sciences$144,389$103,650#18 of 459
Economics$137,935$84,967#12 of 368
Mathematics$134,455$87,251#7 of 309
Engineering$128,207—#2 of 57
Public Policy Analysis$126,767$77,906#1 of 34
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology$124,242$78,358—
Physics$118,649$50,933#2 of 107
Chemical Engineering$116,165$85,578#4 of 158
Human Resources Management and Services$112,713$73,436#1 of 187
Hospitality Administration/Management$112,289$77,803#1 of 137
Statistics$111,090$82,531#8 of 50
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering$103,016$69,558#1 of 46
Agricultural Engineering$99,600$54,435#1 of 26
Area Studies$96,976$43,831#1 of 70
Political Science and Government$95,391$60,292#7 of 565
Apparel and Textiles$94,967—#1 of 57
Civil Engineering$91,242$80,261#47 of 233
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics$89,275$33,419#4 of 225
Communication and Media Studies$88,463$62,182#3 of 660
Biological and Biomedical Sciences$85,883$38,841#3 of 17
Food Science and Technology$84,147$64,062#2 of 29
History$82,031$44,706#9 of 459
Chemistry$79,311$28,372#22 of 209
Psychology$78,049$36,630#6 of 1027
Sociology$73,200$36,709#9 of 462
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services$73,066$38,401#1 of 172

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Cornell University mechanical engineering graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $85,440 one year after graduating and $112,212 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does Cornell University rank for mechanical engineering?

Among 318 colleges reporting earnings for mechanical engineering graduates, Cornell University ranks #9 by median pay four years after graduation, and #27 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is mechanical engineering at Cornell University worth it?

Its graduates earn 22% more than the national median for mechanical engineering ($92,135), and the median federal debt at graduation is $15,500.

← All data for Cornell University · Methodology

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study data. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled; programs with few graduates are not reported. Wage adjustment uses Census ACS state median household income.