MBA grads, especially from the top schools, earn considerably more than others
LIFETIME MEDIAN CASH COMPENSATION FOR MBAS FROM TOP BUSINESS SCHOOLS — The Top 25
| MBA School Name | Early Career Median Pay | Estimated 20-Year Earnings | Estimated Lifetime Earnings* |
| Harvard Business School |
$141,000 |
$3,780,000 |
$8,500,000 |
| Stanford University – Graduate School of Business |
$138,000 |
$3,700,000 |
$8,330,000 |
| University of California Berkeley – Haas School of Business |
$137,000 |
$3,670,000 |
$8,250,000 |
| Dartmouth College – Tuck School of Business |
$136,000 |
$3,660,000 |
$8,240,000 |
| University of Virginia (UVA) – Darden School of Business |
$136,000 |
$3,640,000 |
$8,200,000 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Sloan School of Management |
$130,000 |
$3,510,000 |
$7,890,000 |
| Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management |
$130,000 |
$3,490,000 |
$7,860,000 |
| Cornell University – Johnson Graduate School of Management (JGSM) |
$125,000 |
$3,370,000 |
$7,570,000 |
| University of Pennsylvania – Wharton School |
$123,000 |
$3,310,000 |
$7,440,000 |
| University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) – Anderson School of Management |
$122,000 |
$3,270,000 |
$7,360,000 |
| Duke University – Fuqua School of Business |
$121,000 |
$3,260,000 |
$7,330,000 |
| University of Michigan – Stephen M. Ross School of Business |
$113,000 |
$3,050,000 |
$6,860,000 |
| Columbia Business School |
$113,000 |
$3,020,000 |
$6,800,000 |
| Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) – Tepper School |
$112,000 |
$3,000,000 |
$6,750,000 |
| University of Chicago – Booth School of Business |
$111,000 |
$3,000,000 |
$6,740,000 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) – Kenan-Flagler Business School |
$111,000 |
$2,990,000 |
$6,730,000 |
| Georgetown University McDonough – School of Business |
$111,000 |
$2,980,000 |
$6,710,000 |
| University of Washington (UW) – Foster School of Business |
$109,000 |
$2,930,000 |
$6,600,000 |
| University of Texas (UT) – Austin McCombs School of Business |
$105,000 |
$2,820,000 |
$6,350,000 |
| New York University (NYU) – Leonard N. Stern School of Business |
$104,000 |
$2,800,000 |
$6,310,000 |
| Vanderbilt University – Business School |
$99,700 |
$2,680,000 |
$6,030,000 |
| Santa Clara University – Leavey School of Business |
$99,500 |
$2,670,000 |
$6,020,000 |
| George Washington University (GWU) – School of Business |
$96,400 |
$2,590,000 |
$5,830,000 |
| University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management |
$95,400 |
$2,560,000 |
$5,770,000 |
| University of California Irvine (UCI) – Paul Merage School of Business |
$93,600 |
$2,520,000 |
$5,660,000 |
* Early career median pay reflects pay for workers with 0 to 5 years of experience. SOURCE: Payscale Data provided by 
under license. Last updated in 2021.
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