2021 Best Colleges in Michigan by Salary Score™

This list of the 25 best schools in Michigan highlights how well each university prepares students for high-paying careers across majors. We ranked schools based on Salary Score, which acts as an indicator of whether bachelor's degrees from a given college tend to lead to higher salaries compared to the same degrees at other universities. We compared the median alumni salary in the year after graduation for each program to data for graduates from the same program across other universities. These program scores were then combined to provide an overall Salary Score for each school. A high score indicates alumni across programs tend to earn higher salaries in their field of study. Michigan is ranked #11 for most affordable states to live in, which means alumni who stay in the state may have lower salaries in line with lower living expenses. Even with a lower cost of living, 14 Michigan universities had a higher Salary Score than the median for colleges in the United States

To be considered for our state rankings, schools must offer and provide data for at least 8 bachelor's programs. You can click on a school's name to view individual program scores. Read our methodology to learn more about how schools were ranked.