---
title: 50 Best Schools (by State) for Getting a Job
description: Job placement rates are important and should influence your decision to choose a college, because it helps to determine the likelihood of being able to acquire gainful employment after graduation.
---

[Steppingblocks | Stories, Trends & News ](https://blog.steppingblocks.com)

# [50 Best Schools (by State) for Getting a Job](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/50-best-schools-by-state-for-getting-a-job)

 Written by [Jasmyne Moody, Staff Writer](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/author/jasmyne-moody-staff-writer) | May 9, 2018 9:50:00 PM Z

The question isn’t why college — it’s which college. Most people get an education to get a job. Not just any job, but one that establishes a career path in something rewarding that earns a good salary. At least that’s the dream. When researching schools, look for the right college to help you reach your career goals.

Finding the right college means looking at a variety of factors to make your time there comfortable and effective. Students often select colleges for several reasons, including the [community surrounding the college](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/10-of-the-most-beautiful-college-campuses), its available courses, access to amenities and attractions, the location of the college and costs. But one factor often overlooked when deciding which college to attend is the job placement rate. According to Bloomberg Businessweek in an [analysis of the best business schools](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-best-business-schools/), job placement rates include the percentage of students who got a job in the field or related field the student was trained in.

 

 

Job placement rates are important and should influence your decision to choose a college, because it helps to determine the likelihood of being able to acquire gainful employment after graduation. However, it’s important to note[ job placement numbers can be misleading or confusing if interpreted incorrectly](http://mycollegeguide.org/blog/2014/02/college-job-placement-rates/).

Based on information collected from the [College Scorecard](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/), [IPED](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/) and [Niche](https://www.niche.com/) — including employment rates two years after graduating and median earnings after six years — here are some of the top colleges for getting a job in each state.

 

 

## 1. Alabama

**College:** [Birmingham Southern College](https://www.bsc.edu/)

**City:** Birmingham

**Placement Rate:** 91%

**Median Earnings:** $45,600

## 2. Alaska

**College:**[ University of Alaska at Fairbanks](http://uaf.edu/admissions/lp/uaf/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI75-k96X52gIVV-DICh0WgwCBEAAYASAAEgJMxPD_BwE)

**City:** Fairbanks

**Placement Rate:** 84%

**Median Earnings:** $37,100

## 3. Arizona

**College:** [Arizona State University](https://www.asu.edu/)

**City:** Tempe

**Placement Rate:** 91%

**Median Earnings:** $45,400

## 4. Arkansas

**College:** [University of Arkansas](https://www.uark.edu/)

**City:** Fayetteville

**Placement Rate:** 92%

**Median Earnings:** $43,100

## 5. California

**College:** [Stanford University](https://www.stanford.edu/)

**City:** Stanford

**Placement Rate:** 93%

**Median Earnings:** $85,700

## 6. Colorado

**College:** [Colorado School of Mines](https://www.mines.edu/)

**City:** Golden

**Placement Rate:** 93%

**Median Earnings:** $82,100

## 7. Connecticut

**College:** [Yale University](https://www.yale.edu/)

**City:** New Haven

**Placement Rate:** 91%

**Median Earnings:** $83,200

## 8. Delaware

**College:** [University of Delaware](http://www.udel.edu/)

**City:** Newark

**Placement Rate:** 96%

**Median Earnings:** $55,100

## 9. Florida

**College:** [University of Florida](http://www.ufl.edu/)

**City:** Gainesville

**Placement Rate:** 92%

**Median Earnings:** $53,100

## 10. Georgia

**College:** [Spelman College](https://www.spelman.edu/)

**City:** Atlanta

**Placement Rate:** 94%

**Median Earnings:** $46,800

## 11. Hawaii

**College:** [University of Hawaii at Manoa](https://manoa.hawaii.edu/)

**City:** Honolulu

**Placement Rate:** 89%

**Median Earnings:** $43,600

## 12. Idaho

**College:** [University of Idaho](https://www.uidaho.edu/)

**City:** Moscow

**Placement Rate:** 92%

**Median Earnings:** $41,000

## 13. Illinois

**College:** [Illinois Wesleyan University](https://www.iwu.edu/)

**City:** Bloomington

**Placement Rate:** 96%

**Median Earnings:** $55,600

## 14. Indiana

**College:** [Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology ](https://www.rose-hulman.edu/)

**City:** Terre Haute

**Placement Rate:** 97%

**Median Earnings:** $79,200

## 15. Iowa

**College:** [University of Iowa](https://uiowa.edu/)

**City:** Iowa City

**Placement Rate:** 96%

**Median Earnings:** $50,200

## 16. Kansas

**College:** [Kansas State University](https://www.k-state.edu/)

**City:** Manhattan

**Placement Rate:** 94%

**Median Earnings:** $43,800

## 17. Kentucky

**College:** [Transylvania University ](http://www.transy.edu/)

**City:** Lexington

**Placement Rate:** 94%

**Median Earnings:** $41,700

## 18. Louisiana

**College:** [Xavier University of Louisiana](http://www.xula.edu/)

**City:** New Orleans

**Placement Rate:** 95%

**Median Earnings:** $47,900

## 19. Maine

**College:** [Bates College](http://www.bates.edu/home/)

**City:** Lewiston

**Placement Rate:** 94%

**Median Earnings:** $55,700

## 20. Maryland

**College:** [John Hopkins University](https://www.jhu.edu/)

**City:** Baltimore

**Placement Rate:** 91%

**Median Earnings:** $69,800

## 21. Massachusetts

**College:** [Massachusetts Institute of Technology](http://web.mit.edu/)

**City:** Cambridge

**Placement Rate:** 92%

**Median Earnings:** $94,200

## 22. Michigan

**College:** [University of Michigan at Ann Arbor](https://www.umich.edu/)

**City:** Ann Arbor

**Placement Rate:** 93%

**Median Earnings:** $60,100

## 23. Minnesota

**College:** [Macalester College](https://www.macalester.edu/)

**City:** Saint Paul

**Placement Rate:** 91%

**Median Earnings:** $45,300

## 24. Mississippi

**College:** [University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)](https://www.olemiss.edu/)

**City:** University

**Placement Rate:** 93%

**Median Earnings:** $41,100

## 25. Missouri

**College:** [Washington University in St. Louis](https://wustl.edu/)

**City:** St. Louis

**Placement Rate:** 93%

**Median Earnings:** $66,300

## 26. Montana

**College:** [Carroll College](https://www.carroll.edu/)

**City:** Helena

**Placement Rate:** 93%

**Median Earnings:** $43,500

## 27. Nebraska

**College:** [University of Nebraska at Lincoln](https://www.unl.edu/)

**City:** Lincoln

**Placement Rate:** 96%

**Median Earnings:** $43,700

## 28. Nevada

**College:** [University of Nevada Reno](https://www.unr.edu/)

**City:** Reno

**Placement Rate:** 91%

**Median Earnings:** $45,000

## 29. New Hampshire

**College:** [Dartmouth College](https://home.dartmouth.edu/)

**City:** Hanover

**Placement Rate:** 92%

**Median Earnings:** $70,000

## 30. New Jersey

**College:** [Princeton University](https://www.princeton.edu/)

**City:** Princeton

**Placement Rate:** 89%

**Median Earnings:** $85,000

## 31. New Mexico

**College:** [New Mexico Institute of Mining](http://www.nmt.edu/)

**City:** Socorro

**Placement Rate:** 86%

**Median Earnings:** $52,900

## 32. New York

**College:** [Columbia University](https://www.columbia.edu/)

**City:** New York

**Placement Rate:** 88%

**Median Earnings:** $78,200

## 33. North Carolina

**College:** [Wake Forest University](https://www.wfu.edu/)

**City:** Winston-Salem

**Placement Rate:** 93%

**Median Earnings:** $60,200

## 34. North Dakota

**College:** [University of Mary ](https://www.umary.edu/)

**City:** Bismarck

**Placement Rate:** 95%

**Median Earnings:** $46,200

## 35. Ohio

**College:** [The Ohio State University](https://www.osu.edu/)

**City:** Columbus

**Placement Rate:** 93%

**Median Earnings:** $43,700

## 36. Oklahoma

**College:** [Oklahoma City University](https://www.okcu.edu/)

**City:** Oklahoma City

**Placement Rate:** 93%

**Median Earnings:** $40,300

## 37. Oregon

**College:** [Reed College](http://www.reed.edu/)

**City:** Portland

**Placement Rate:** 88%

**Median Earnings:** $37,900

## 38. Pennsylvania

**College:** [University of Pennsylvania](https://www.upenn.edu/)

**City:** Philadelphia

**Placement Rate:** 91%

**Median Earnings:** $82,400

## 39. Rhode Island

**College:** [Brown University](https://www.brown.edu/)

**City:** Providence

**Placement Rate:** 91%

**Median Earnings:** $63,100

## 40. South Carolina

**College:** [Clemson University](http://www.clemson.edu/)

**City:** Clemson

**Placement Rate:** 95%

**Median Earnings:** $50,900

## 41. South Dakota

**College:** [Dakota State University](https://dsu.edu/)

**City:** Madison

**Placement Rate:** 94%

**Median Earnings:** $36,700

## 42. Tennessee

**College:** [Vanderbilt University](https://www.vanderbilt.edu/)

**City:** Nashville

**Placement Rate:** 93%

**Median Earnings: **$64,500

## 43. Texas

**College:** [Rice University](http://www.rice.edu/)

**City:** Houston

**Placement Rate:** 91%

**Median Earnings: **$64,300

## 44. Utah

**College:** [Brigham Young University](https://www.byu.edu/)

**City:** Provo

**Placement Rate:** 79%

**Median Earnings: **$56,800

## 45. Vermont

**College:** [Middlebury College](http://www.middlebury.edu/#story569892)

**City:** Middlebury

**Placement Rate:** 87%

**Median Earnings: **$55,600

## 46. Virginia

**College:** [Virginia Military Institute](http://www.vmi.edu/)

**City:** Lexington

**Placement Rate:** 97%

**Median Earnings: **$63,200

## 47. Washington

**College:** [University of Washington](https://www.washington.edu/)

**City:** Seattle

**Placement Rate:** 90%

**Median Earnings: **$54,800

## 48. West Virginia

**College:** [West Virginia University](https://www.wvu.edu/)

**City:** Morgantown

**Placement Rate:** 93%

**Median Earnings: **$44,800

## 49. Wisconsin

**College:** [University of Wisconsin at Platteville](https://www.uwplatt.edu/)

**City:** Platteville

**Placement Rate:** 97%

**Median Earnings: **$45,400

## 50. Wyoming

**College:** [University of Wyoming](http://www.uwyo.edu/)

**City:** Laramie

**Placement Rate:** 91%

**Median Earnings: **$46,200

## Final Thoughts

The next time you're looking for a college to attend, consider its job placement rates. It's key to pay attention to this number, because it will give you valuable insight into which schools may provide you with the best potential to get a job when you graduate. If you want to dive even further, analyze your path based on millions of others with [your digital career counselor](https://app.steppingblocks.com/signup). 

[View full post](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/50-best-schools-by-state-for-getting-a-job)

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