Best Computer Science Schools by Graduate Salary & ROI (2026)

345 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Computer Science, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Computer Science graduate earns $73,714/yr across 345 schools.

What do Computer Science graduates do? See career paths and salaries →

Why UCLA Leads the Pack: Location, Location, Recruitment

UCLA’s #1 ranking is a direct result of its prime Los Angeles location. Graduates feed into the high-paying "Silicon Beach" tech ecosystem, with companies like Google, Snap, and SpaceX actively recruiting on campus. This powerful internship-to-hire pipeline explains the stellar $136,099 average starting salary. While other schools have strong programs, UCLA combines top-tier public university academics with unparalleled access to one of the world's most dynamic and highest-paying tech hubs.

The Public University ROI Engine

The most striking pattern is the dominance of public universities, which make up 18 of the top 20 programs. This isn't an accident. State flagships like the University of Florida (#2) and Georgia Tech (#3) have become elite CS talent factories, delivering massive returns on investment (49.2x and 32.0x, respectively) by combining high earnings with reasonable tuition. The ultimate proof is UF-Online at #7, which offers the same $90,651 earnings potential for a tiny $15,504 tuition, yielding a staggering 81.6x ROI.

Where Are MIT and Stanford? The Value-Focused Surprise

You might notice that traditional private tech titans like MIT and Stanford are absent from the top of this list. This is because our rankings weigh financial outcomes heavily. While graduates from those schools earn a lot, their extremely high tuition costs can lower their ROI compared to public powerhouses. The data reveals a crucial insight: schools like the University of New Mexico (#4), with its pipeline to national labs and 34.8x ROI, prove you don’t need an ultra-expensive private degree to land a high-impact, high-paying job in tech.

Your Co-Pilot is an AI: Thriving in a High-Exposure Field

Every single program on this list is rated as having high exposure to AI, with an average of 58.7% of tasks being automatable. This doesn’t mean the jobs are vanishing; it means the job is changing. AI is automating routine coding and analysis, making junior-level execution less valuable. For a 2026 graduate, your career success will depend not on writing simple code, but on your ability to design complex systems, critically evaluate AI outputs, and make strategic decisions that AI cannot.

Programs Ranked
345
Avg Earnings
$73,714/yr
Avg DW Score
75/100
AI Risk
Very High
61% task exposure

All Computer Science Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

# School DW Score Earnings ROI
1 University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public
90
85–92
$149,866/yr 36.9x
2 University of California-San Diego
La Jolla, CA · Public
90
84–91
$112,006/yr 25.3x
3 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL · Public
90
84–91
$124,530/yr 25.6x
4 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC · Public
90
83–91
$90,293/yr 33.8x
5 Brigham Young University
Provo, UT · Private nonprofit
90
83–91
$90,625/yr 47.1x
6 University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT · Public
90
82–91
$90,282/yr 30.2x
7 University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA · Public
90
85–91
$128,887/yr 31.1x
8 Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN · Public
90
83–91
$94,786/yr 36.4x
9 University of Washington-Bothell Campus
Bothell, WA · Public
90
85–91
$128,887/yr 31.3x
10 California State University-Chico
Chico, CA · Public
89
82–90
$81,021/yr 37.8x
11 University of California-Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA · Public
89
83–91
$107,776/yr 23.3x
12 Boise State University
Boise, ID · Public
89
82–91
$85,596/yr 32.5x
13 Brigham Young University-Idaho
Rexburg, ID · Private nonprofit
89
82–90
$77,316/yr 65.4x
14 CUNY City College
New York, NY · Public
89
82–90
$83,258/yr 35.0x
15 Binghamton University
Vestal, NY · Public
89
82–90
$82,329/yr 32.0x
16 North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC · Public
89
82–90
$85,809/yr 30.3x
17 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
Norman, OK · Public
89
82–90
$78,610/yr 34.1x
18 West Texas A & M University
Canyon, TX · Public
89
82–91
$88,391/yr 29.5x
19 Utah Valley University
Orem, UT · Public
89
82–90
$77,946/yr 45.4x
20 Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ · Public
88
80–89
$80,686/yr 21.7x
21 University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ · Public
88
81–89
$86,040/yr 20.2x
22 University of California-Irvine
Irvine, CA · Public
88
81–90
$82,161/yr 22.3x
23 San Diego State University
San Diego, CA · Public
88
81–89
$74,523/yr 33.5x
24 University of Colorado Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, CO · Public
88
81–89
$77,761/yr 26.7x
25 Iowa State University
Ames, IA · Public
88
81–89
$78,517/yr 24.9x
26 University of Maryland-Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD · Public
88
80–89
$83,684/yr 20.1x
27 University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Amherst, MA · Public
88
80–89
$88,554/yr 18.0x
28 CUNY Hunter College
New York, NY · Public
88
81–90
$76,747/yr 36.4x
29 Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR · Public
88
80–89
$85,376/yr 19.4x
30 Portland State University
Portland, OR · Public
88
81–90
$78,669/yr 27.0x
31 The University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, TX · Public
88
81–89
$84,759/yr 22.0x
32 George Mason University
Fairfax, VA · Public
88
81–89
$84,632/yr 20.0x
33 Oregon State University-Cascades Campus
Bend, OR · Public
88
81–89
$85,376/yr 20.8x
34 Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ · Public
87
80–88
$74,815/yr 22.3x
35 University of California-Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA · Public
87
79–88
$75,150/yr 19.8x
36 Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, CA · Public
87
80–88
$66,481/yr 44.0x
37 Metropolitan State University of Denver
Denver, CO · Public
87
80–88
$73,874/yr 24.9x
38 Georgia College & State University
Milledgeville, GA · Public
87
80–88
$76,971/yr 25.4x
39 University of Georgia
Athens, GA · Public
87
80–88
$79,546/yr 21.5x
40 University of Idaho
Moscow, ID · Public
87
80–88
$70,276/yr 31.1x
41 University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, IL · Public
87
80–88
$78,040/yr 19.3x
42 Indiana University-Bloomington
Bloomington, IN · Public
87
80–89
$77,909/yr 22.3x
43 Indiana University-Southeast
New Albany, IN · Public
87
80–89
$72,634/yr 31.9x
44 Towson University
Towson, MD · Public
87
80–88
$71,795/yr 23.5x
45 University of Massachusetts-Lowell
Lowell, MA · Public
87
80–89
$86,167/yr 18.2x
46 Metropolitan State University
Saint Paul, MN · Public
87
80–88
$72,865/yr 24.5x
47 Montana State University
Bozeman, MT · Public
87
80–88
$66,918/yr 38.0x
48 University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE · Public
87
80–89
$73,971/yr 29.7x
49 University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY · Public
87
80–88
$72,283/yr 24.6x
50 North Carolina A & T State University
Greensboro, NC · Public
87
79–88
$81,174/yr 29.2x

Scores calculated using College Scorecard, BLS, and AI task-exposure data. See full methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Computer Science?
Based on our DegreeOutlook Score, University of California-Berkeley ranks #1 for Computer Science with a score of 90/100 and graduate earnings of $149,866/yr.
How much do Computer Science graduates earn?
Across 345 schools, Computer Science graduates earn an average of $73,714/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $173,344/yr.
Is Computer Science a good major for AI resistance?
Computer Science has an average AI task exposure of 61%, rated "Very High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.

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