Mathematics graduates from Duke University are out-earning every other college major in the country, federal data shows.
The number-crunchers pulled down a median annual salary of $297,029 just four years after leaving the Durham, North Carolina, campus, according to newly released earnings figures from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard website. The data captures students who graduated in either 2018 or 2019.
Computer science graduates at Carnegie Mellon University ranked second nationwide, earning a median of $268,121. Their classmates in electrical, electronics and communications engineering placed third at $250,168. University of Pennsylvania computer and information science majors rounded out the top four with $241,380.
Faisal Alsaadi, who finished his degree in 2019 and has since worked at start-ups in Saudi Arabia, said the program’s strength comes from students who refuse to stay in one lane.
“I don’t know a single math major who was only doing math,” he said in an interview. He noted that he personally double-majored in mathematics and economics.
Ezra Miller, a professor in Duke’s math department, pointed to three current undergraduates with double majors who recently captured an international math competition. The team built models designed to maximize a soccer team’s performance.
“I like it when I’m able to train young people to think mathematically and then they take it into every part of the world,” Miller said.
Miller added that the field draws a particular kind of student, one motivated by something beyond future paychecks.
“It does also attract people who are interested in beauty and truth,” he said.
Greg Herschlag, another Duke math professor, pushed back against using salary figures as the primary yardstick for educational success.
“I would rather universities and departments be judged not simply by how well their graduates do for themselves, but by how much value they create for others: how much they contribute to society, who benefits from that labor and whether that work is improving people’s lives,” he said.
The College Scorecard figures, which track earnings specifically at the four-year post-graduation mark, have become a closely watched benchmark as students and families weigh the return on investment of increasingly expensive degrees. The database covers institutions that receive federal financial aid.
The Duke mathematics program’s top ranking arrives amid broader national conversations about whether elite college credentials justify their cost, and which fields actually deliver financial security. The nearly $300,000 median places Duke math graduates comfortably above even other high-paying technical and professional tracks.
Herschlag’s skepticism about salary-centric rankings highlights a tension within the department itself. While the earnings data generates headlines and prospective student interest, some faculty members want the conversation to shift toward broader social impact.
The federal earnings figures do not account for graduate school attendance, which can delay income for students who continue into PhD programs or professional degrees. They also reflect a particular moment in the economy, capturing graduates who entered the workforce in the late 2010s and early 2020s.