Civil Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Blacksburg, VA · Bachelor's Degree · about 242 graduates a year

$74,285
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$88,142
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$86,517
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#73 of 233
Rank by pay
#188 of 233
Rank, wage-adjusted
$25,000
Median federal debt

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University graduates in civil engineering earn 2% more than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 28% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Compares for Civil Engineering

All 233 colleges reporting civil 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
1University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA$108,548$98,772#8$78,142
2The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York, NY$108,466$103,237#2—
3Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY$108,246$103,028#3—
4University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA$106,308$96,733#17$85,262
5Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA$105,594$96,084#19$84,883
6Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA$105,199$106,988#1—
7Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA$103,223$93,926#32$87,790
8California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA$101,072$91,969#42$80,673
9George Washington University Washington, DC$100,990$88,493#89—
10Northeastern University Boston, MA$100,613$88,600#87$76,362
…
70Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ$88,184$90,611#60$66,589
71Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IN$88,155$94,574#25$73,821
72Marquette University Milwaukee, WI$88,144$91,718#46$68,386
73Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA$88,142$80,261#188$74,285
74The University of Texas at Tyler Tyler, TX$88,102$89,574#77$67,671
75University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA$88,076$77,560#213$69,757
76Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO$88,001$82,298#169$73,326

Other Civil Engineering Credentials at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Credential1 yr after4 yrs afterMedian debt
Master's Degree$76,016$99,698$19,050

Other Majors at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Computer and Information Sciences$144,103$96,432#19 of 459
Computer Engineering$122,026$86,636#33 of 189
Applied Mathematics$117,990$82,275#8 of 45
Industrial Engineering$116,641$82,437#5 of 94
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods$108,726$77,877#16 of 126
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering$106,633$76,856#9 of 59
Chemical Engineering$106,011$82,382#25 of 158
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$104,839$83,364#63 of 258
Finance and Financial Management Services$102,902$66,601#38 of 452
Construction Engineering$102,699$82,627#5 of 13
Engineering Mechanics$101,509$81,735—
Accounting and Related Services$99,528$70,303#54 of 796
Mechanical Engineering$96,376$78,280#70 of 318
Real Estate$95,576$68,078#7 of 25
Business/Managerial Economics$95,271—#13 of 84
Construction Management$95,165$76,246#23 of 57
Mining and Mineral Engineering$94,397$74,793#5 of 7
Statistics$94,300$62,598#20 of 50
Physics$92,746$58,061#18 of 107
Economics$92,653$56,261#92 of 368
Materials Engineering$90,828$66,888#20 of 34
Agricultural Engineering$88,315$75,434#8 of 26
Marketing$86,338$56,417#43 of 516
Engineering-Related Fields$81,618$56,513#30 of 33
Food Science and Technology$80,161$56,274#5 of 29
Business Administration, Management and Operations$80,023$60,678#140 of 1176
Political Science and Government$75,687$42,114#59 of 565
Architecture$75,074$56,708#12 of 78
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services$74,005$25,414#1 of 50
Chemistry$73,395$45,513#49 of 209

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University civil engineering graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $74,285 one year after graduating and $88,142 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University rank for civil engineering?

Among 233 colleges reporting earnings for civil engineering graduates, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ranks #73 by median pay four years after graduation, and #188 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is civil engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University worth it?

Its graduates earn 2% more than the national median for civil engineering ($86,517), and the median federal debt at graduation is $25,000.

← All data for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State 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.