Best Schools for Civil Engineering in 2026
These are the top schools offering Civil Engineering, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Civil Engineering graduate earns $69,097/yr across 220 schools.
All Civil Engineering Programs Ranked
Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.
| # | School | DW Score | Earnings | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA · Public |
77
74–78 |
$80,673/yr | 21.9x |
| 2 |
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
Pomona, CA · Public |
77
74–79 |
$75,758/yr | 32.6x |
| 3 |
California State University-Long Beach
Long Beach, CA · Public |
77
74–78 |
$73,342/yr | 34.0x |
| 4 |
California State University-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Public |
77
74–78 |
$73,178/yr | 35.6x |
| 5 |
University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage, AK · Public |
76
74–78 |
$72,140/yr | 31.7x |
| 6 |
California State University-Chico
Chico, CA · Public |
76
74–78 |
$72,350/yr | 30.5x |
| 7 |
California State University-Fresno
Fresno, CA · Public |
76
74–77 |
$71,093/yr | 32.4x |
| 8 |
California State University-Fullerton
Fullerton, CA · Public |
76
74–78 |
$72,606/yr | 31.9x |
| 9 |
California State University-Sacramento
Sacramento, CA · Public |
76
74–77 |
$71,342/yr | 30.4x |
| 10 |
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA · Public |
76
74–78 |
$73,584/yr | 28.0x |
| 11 |
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA · Public |
76
74–77 |
$68,256/yr | 32.9x |
| 12 |
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL · Public |
76
73–77 |
$72,889/yr | 33.3x |
| 13 |
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK · Public |
75
73–77 |
$71,312/yr | 25.7x |
| 14 |
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public |
75
72–76 |
$78,142/yr | 16.6x |
| 15 |
University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Public |
75
72–76 |
$75,510/yr | 17.6x |
| 16 |
University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL · Public |
75
73–76 |
$69,321/yr | 32.9x |
| 17 |
University of Houston
Houston, TX · Public |
75
73–77 |
$74,822/yr | 22.5x |
| 18 |
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX · Public |
75
72–76 |
$75,153/yr | 18.9x |
| 19 |
Florida International University
Miami, FL · Public |
74
73–76 |
$66,215/yr | 32.5x |
| 20 |
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL · Public |
74
73–76 |
$67,050/yr | 37.1x |
| 21 |
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL · Public |
74
72–75 |
$70,047/yr | 30.4x |
| 22 |
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
Atlanta, GA · Public |
74
72–76 |
$75,688/yr | 18.4x |
| 23 |
University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD · Public |
74
72–76 |
$76,731/yr | 18.7x |
| 24 |
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV · Public |
74
72–76 |
$69,629/yr | 23.2x |
| 25 |
CUNY City College
New York, NY · Public |
74
73–76 |
$67,194/yr | 29.8x |
| 26 |
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC · Public |
74
72–75 |
$70,346/yr | 22.9x |
| 27 |
Texas A & M University-College Station
College Station, TX · Public |
74
71–76 |
$75,793/yr | 17.2x |
| 28 |
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX · Public |
74
72–76 |
$74,655/yr | 18.4x |
| 29 |
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT · Private nonprofit |
74
72–75 |
$68,685/yr | 30.8x |
| 30 |
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA · Public |
74
71–75 |
$75,822/yr | 16.4x |
| 31 |
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA · Public |
74
71–75 |
$73,357/yr | 17.5x |
| 32 |
Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN · Public |
74
72–76 |
$74,369/yr | 20.4x |
| 33 |
University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
Tacoma, WA · Public |
74
71–75 |
$73,357/yr | 17.3x |
| 34 |
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, GA · Public |
74
72–75 |
$65,259/yr | 36.5x |
| 35 |
California State University-Northridge
Northridge, CA · Public |
73
72–75 |
$62,768/yr | 30.3x |
| 36 |
University of California-Davis
Davis, CA · Public |
73
71–75 |
$75,165/yr | 15.1x |
| 37 |
University of California-Irvine
Irvine, CA · Public |
73
70–74 |
$73,835/yr | 15.6x |
| 38 |
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
Denver, CO · Public |
73
71–75 |
$72,362/yr | 20.0x |
| 39 |
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, CT · Public |
73
71–75 |
$71,859/yr | 17.6x |
| 40 |
Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL · Public |
73
72–75 |
$64,671/yr | 40.9x |
| 41 |
University of North Florida
Jacksonville, FL · Public |
73
72–75 |
$65,622/yr | 31.4x |
| 42 |
University of Idaho
Moscow, ID · Public |
73
71–74 |
$68,885/yr | 21.9x |
| 43 |
Iowa State University
Ames, IA · Public |
73
71–75 |
$72,502/yr | 19.5x |
| 44 |
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE · Public |
73
72–75 |
$68,574/yr | 23.8x |
| 45 |
University of Nevada-Reno
Reno, NV · Public |
73
71–74 |
$67,379/yr | 22.1x |
| 46 |
North Carolina A & T State University
Greensboro, NC · Public |
73
71–75 |
$70,474/yr | 27.2x |
| 47 |
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, NC · Public |
73
71–75 |
$67,934/yr | 26.7x |
| 48 |
University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, ND · Public |
73
71–75 |
$73,260/yr | 18.8x |
| 49 |
Ohio University-Eastern Campus
Saint Clairsville, OH · Public |
73
71–74 |
$63,884/yr | 31.2x |
| 50 |
Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus
Chillicothe, OH · Public |
73
71–74 |
$63,884/yr | 31.2x |
Methodology
Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).
Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.