An MBA is a significant investment of money, time and energy. But this investment proves well worth it when you consider the lifetime returns it offers – not only in terms of better career opportunities and highly transferable skills, but also the lucrative compensation and perks accompanying it.
In fact, salaries earned by MBA graduates are higher compared those with an undergraduate degree or other post-graduate degrees like MiM or Master’s degrees.
According to GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey salary data, the average starting salary in the USA for MBA graduates was $120,000, whereas for business Master’s degree like the Master of Business/Data Analytics, Master of Finance, it was $80,000, for MiM degree it was $79,500 whereas for a Bachelor’s degree it was $69,320.
So, on an average, an MBA graduate would earn around 1.75 times someone with only a bachelor’s degree.
Average MBA salaries in USA
| Business School | Median/Average Base Salary | Median/Average Signing Bonus | Median Performance Bonus/Other Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford | $185,000 | $30,000 | $50,000 |
| Harvard | $175,000 | $30,000 | $47,500 |
| Wharton | $175,000 | – | – |
| Columbia | $175,000 | $30,000 | $21,185 |
| MIT Sloan | $169,550 | $30,000 | $40,000 |
| Chicago Booth | $175,000 | $31,000 | – |
| Berkeley Haas | $160,000 | $30,000 | $25,000 |
| Northwestern Kellogg | $170,000 | $30,000 | – |
| Dartmouth Tuck | $175,000 | $30,000 | – |
| NYU Stern | $175,000 | $30,000 | – |
| UVA Darden | $175,000 | $30,000 | – |
| Yale | $160,000 | $30,000 | $24,000 |
| Cornell Johnson | $175,000 | $38,438 | – |
| Duke Fuqua | $175,000 | $30,000 | |
| Emory Goizueta | $175,000 | – | |
| UT Austin Mc Combs | $150,000 | $30,000 | |
| Washington Olin | $126,000 | $37,748 | |
| USC Marshall | $144,442 | $32,524 | |
| Georgetown McDonough | $148,000 | $33,854 | |
| Georgia Tech Scheller | $146,260 | $29,405 | |
| Kenan Flagler | $140,490 | $33,422 | |
| Georgia Terry | $123,000 | $27,000 | |
| Boston Questrom | $120,000 | $15,000 | |
| Babson College | $108,308 | $22,200 |
Salaries are for 2024 graduating class
Most of the top-tier schools recorded a high salary ranging from $160,000 to $175,000. Some schools like Stanford have consistently reported the highest MBA salaries, the trend continues this year as well with Stanford’s median salary being the highest at $185,000.
According to the U.S. News, at 10 of the top 15 highest ranked schools in the U.S. News Best Business School rankings, the overall average base salary and signing bonus was $210,676.
Reputed top-tier business schools that reported a high median salary of $175,000 include Harvard, Wharton. Columbia, Booth, Tuck, Stern, Fuqua, Darden, Johnson.
Emory Goizueta – at $175,000, recorded an impressive jump in its median base salary. The median compensation was $205,000, the highest in the school history. The class also recorded a high 175% increase in the post-MBA mean salary.
How Goizueta Business School does it
At Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, the record-high MBA graduate salaries reflect the power of a rigorous, analytically focused curriculum combined with a sophisticated, results-driven career ecosystem.
MBA Crystal Ball reached out to Brian Mitchell (Associate Dean, Full-Time MBA Programs) to understand the process behind the impressive results.
“Our academic program challenges students to master technical, data-driven skills while strengthening structured problem-solving, strategic thinking, and the ability to lead in complex environments,” says Brian. “Through immersive experiential learning projects, students apply classroom concepts to real business challenges, developing both expertise and confidence before graduation.”
This academic strength is matched by the b-schools world-class Career Management Center, where every student receives unlimited one-on-one coaching from industry-specific experts. Advisors work closely with students to clarify goals, prepare for interviews and negotiations, and build tailored career strategies. Alongside them, their Employer Relations team manages deep, long-term corporate partnerships while continually adding new firms each year.
“Our sophisticated recruitment ecosystem includes on-campus interviews, curated online platforms, exclusive job boards, and targeted networking events, giving students unparalleled access to opportunities,” Brian told us. “These efforts are strengthened by the trust employers place in Goizueta talent, knowing our graduates combine technical excellence with emotional intelligence, integrity, and the ability to inspire others.”
So that’s Goizueta’s ‘secret’ – a powerful combination of academic rigor, personalized career support, and exceptional corporate connections that deliver among the best career outcomes in the US.
Factors affecting MBA salaries
The question here is whether the median salary of a business school the only metric to consider? Well, there are other important aspects that need to be accounted for, in order to get a clearer picture of the average salary you can expect post-MBA. Let’s understand this by taking the example of a reputed M7 MBA program, Northwestern Kellogg.
Though the median salary was $170,000, take a note of the compensation variation across industries. In consulting, the median salary was the highest at $190,000, in financial services it was $173,000, in technology it was $157,000, in healthcare it was $140,000, in consumer-packaged goods industry it was $128,000, in manufacturing it was $136,186.
Similarly, the salary also depends on the job function. At Kellogg, function-wise, the median salary in consulting was $190,000, in finance/accounting it was $162,500, in corporate strategy it was $150,000, in marketing/sales it was $148,000, in general management it was $142,800, in retail it was $133,000.
Even within a specific job function, there can be significant salary variation. Within the finance/accounting function, at the higher end was investment banking and private equity with median salaries of $175,000 and $165,000 respectively whereas at the lower end of the spectrum was general finance/accounting with a median salary of $122,500.
Similarly, within the marketing/sales function, leading in compensation was product management (tech) with a median salary of $169,100 while in brand management, the median salary was the lowest at $125,000.
So, rather than looking at a school’s median/average salary, it’d be more relevant if you can study their detailed employment report to get a better perspective of the percentage of students they successfully placed across a particular industry or function along with the salaries received.
Another striking example is that of Georgia Terry MBA. The average salary was low at $123,000. However, if you look at the salary in the technology industry, you’d be surprised – 19% of the students got into tech with a median salary of $165,273 which is at par with that of a top school like Harvard ($165,000)!
Additionally, Terry earned the no. 1 Financial Times value for money rank – due to its competitive tuition fee of $72,608 (almost half compared to top programs), and robust placements with 95% getting placed at 3 months. So it can be a good choice in terms of ROI for tech industry aspirants.
Then there’s Babson which has a low class average salary ($108,308). But Babson ranks no. 1 in the U.S. News Best Entrepreneurship Master’s Program and it’d be an excellent choice for those aiming for entrepreneurship. So, you need to do your research on which business school is the best fit for you based on your career goals.
Some MBA programs have a huge location advantage. For example, schools like Columbia, NYU Stern, Cornell have a strategic location in/close to the global investment banking hub – The Wall Street and The New York City which can be a huge advantage for networking or during internship/job hunting.
The school’s location, reputation, industry connections, alumni network, career resources are the various influencing factors that can make a difference in the job-hunting process. Some schools can improve the odds of finding a well-paying job in a particular field upon graduation.
The MBA salary would also greatly differ based on your prior work experience, skill-sets and the specific role you are targeting.
Highest paying MBA jobs
Consulting and finance professions continue to attract the majority of MBA graduates.
According to GMAC, consulting continues to be the top job function of interest since 2017. This is owing to the high-profile jobs and lucrative compensation it offers with median salaries in consulting being the highest – $190,000 at the top US MBA programs. According to The U.S. News, the salaries in consulting are much higher (11.5%) compared to other sectors based on data collected across 56 business schools.
Also read: Highest MBA salaries at the top US business schools, and the winner is…
Careers in finance, especially investment banking and private equity offer significant earning potential with MBA graduates at reputed US schools earning a median salary of $175,000, the highest median salary in finance – $200,000 bagged by Stanford MBA grads.
Also read: Why are MBA salaries so high?
Schools like Harvard have been well-known for placing graduates into private equity with 19% getting into private equity with a median base salary of $180,000, median signing bonus of $31,363 and a median variable bonus of $155,000.
There can be considerable salary difference depending on where you work. For example, in the United States, in New York and Boston, your salary would be higher than in Houston.
In this article, we have covered how MBA salaries vary across US business schools. We have an upcoming article where we’ll cover in-depth MBA salaries across schools in UK, Europe, Asia and Canada as well.
Our team at MBA Crystal Ball has helped thousands of applicants get into the top business schools, often with scholarships, Drop us a line at info@mbacrystalball.com if you’re looking for help with your application.
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– Highest salary increase after MBA: And the winner is…not Harvard, Stanford or Wharton
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