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Best Schools for Industrial Engineering in 2026

93 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Industrial Engineering, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Industrial Engineering graduate earns $73,874/yr across 93 schools.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$73,874/yr

Avg DW Score

66/100

AI Risk

High

50% task exposure

All Industrial Engineering Programs Ranked

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

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	SUNY Maritime College Throggs Neck, NY · Public	78 75–78	$91,470/yr	35.1x
2	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA · Public	77 74–78	$87,226/yr	26.3x
3	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA · Public	77 74–77	$87,826/yr	24.2x
4	North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC · Public	76 73–76	$83,427/yr	33.1x
5	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR · Public	75 73–76	$75,968/yr	26.8x
6	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC · Public	75 73–76	$81,055/yr	26.1x
7	University of Houston Houston, TX · Public	75 72–75	$76,147/yr	24.9x
8	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI · Public	75 73–76	$80,435/yr	23.5x
9	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN · Public	75 73–76	$81,379/yr	24.1x
10	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA · Public	74 72–75	$75,110/yr	30.9x
11	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	74 72–75	$80,876/yr	19.5x
12	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK · Public	74 72–75	$72,397/yr	25.9x
13	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA · Public	74 72–74	$75,473/yr	20.6x
14	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV · Public	74 72–74	$75,606/yr	23.6x
15	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	73 71–74	$77,850/yr	18.7x
16	University of South Florida Tampa, FL · Public	73 71–74	$69,672/yr	33.9x
17	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA · Public	73 71–74	$75,699/yr	20.5x
18	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI · Public	73 70–74	$86,476/yr	14.9x
19	Ohio University-Eastern Campus Saint Clairsville, OH · Public	73 71–73	$70,199/yr	34.1x
20	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus Chillicothe, OH · Public	73 71–73	$70,199/yr	34.1x
21	Ohio University-Southern Campus Ironton, OH · Public	73 71–73	$70,199/yr	34.1x
22	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus Lancaster, OH · Public	73 71–73	$70,199/yr	34.1x
23	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus Zanesville, OH · Public	73 71–73	$70,199/yr	34.1x
24	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX · Public	73 71–74	$74,529/yr	18.8x
25	The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX · Public	73 71–74	$76,390/yr	19.7x
26	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX · Public	73 71–74	$71,545/yr	21.0x
27	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA · Public	73 70–74	$82,437/yr	15.8x
28	University of Wisconsin-Platteville Platteville, WI · Public	73 70–73	$76,952/yr	23.6x
29	Indiana Institute of Technology-College of Professional Studies Fort Wayne, IN · Private nonprofit	73 71–74	$77,456/yr	21.2x
30	Auburn University Auburn, AL · Public	72 70–72	$71,063/yr	18.2x
31	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL · Public	72 71–73	$70,194/yr	31.8x
32	Iowa State University Ames, IA · Public	72 70–73	$74,310/yr	20.0x
33	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS · Public	72 70–73	$70,703/yr	21.9x
34	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO · Public	72 70–73	$79,894/yr	16.1x
35	Binghamton University Vestal, NY · Public	72 70–73	$70,943/yr	21.1x
36	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR · Public	72 69–72	$78,425/yr	16.2x
37	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR · Public	72 70–73	$78,425/yr	17.5x
38	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL · Public	71 69–72	$78,313/yr	14.3x
39	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY · Public	71 69–72	$63,476/yr	20.8x
40	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI · Public	71 69–72	$68,673/yr	20.6x
41	Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL · Public	70 68–71	$72,112/yr	16.5x
42	North Dakota State University-Main Campus Fargo, ND · Public	70 69–71	$68,873/yr	18.7x
43	Clemson University Clemson, SC · Public	70 68–71	$74,709/yr	14.5x
44	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN · Public	69 67–70	$73,777/yr	13.2x
45	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ · Public	69 67–70	$78,501/yr	12.5x
46	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH · Public	69 67–69	$70,199/yr	14.8x
47	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Rapid City, SD · Public	69 67–70	$70,216/yr	17.8x
48	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN · Public	69 67–70	$73,822/yr	14.7x
49	Texas State University San Marcos, TX · Public	69 68–70	$61,718/yr	18.4x
50	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA · Public	68 66–69	$76,707/yr	10.9x
51	Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI · Public	67 65–68	$74,670/yr	12.4x
52	University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL · Public	66 65–67	$57,281/yr	14.5x
53	New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ · Public	66 64–67	$71,329/yr	11.1x
54	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit	65 62–66	$87,807/yr	4.0x
55	Northwestern University Evanston, IL · Private nonprofit	65 62–66	$89,811/yr	4.2x
56	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL · Public	64 61–64	$76,426/yr	32.8x
57	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH · Public	64 62–65	$56,274/yr	13.9x
58	University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Mayaguez, PR · Public	64 64–64	$45,322/yr	33.9x
59	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA · Private nonprofit	63 61–64	$81,142/yr	3.9x
60	The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX · Public	63 63–64	$45,467/yr	19.8x
61	Indiana Institute of Technology Fort Wayne, IN · Private nonprofit	62 60–63	$77,456/yr	6.2x
62	Morgan State University Baltimore, MD · Public	62 60–63	$74,047/yr	21.8x
63	Kettering University Flint, MI · Private nonprofit	62 59–63	$85,105/yr	4.1x
64	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY · Private nonprofit	62 60–63	$74,787/yr	3.8x
65	Kansas State University Manhattan, KS · Public	61 59–62	$77,724/yr	16.8x
66	Northeastern University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	61 59–62	$77,066/yr	3.4x
67	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY · Private nonprofit	61 58–61	$72,764/yr	3.6x
68	University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, AL · Public	60 58–61	$76,690/yr	15.3x
69	Montana State University Bozeman, MT · Public	60 58–60	$64,082/yr	18.8x
70	Bradley University Peoria, IL · Private nonprofit	59 57–59	$68,166/yr	4.5x
71	Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH · Public	59 57–59	$69,202/yr	15.0x
72	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK · Public	59 57–60	$69,486/yr	16.0x
73	Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI · Private nonprofit	59 57–59	$71,112/yr	3.7x
74	Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL · Public	58 56–59	$73,092/yr	13.1x
75	University of Louisville Louisville, KY · Public	58 56–59	$74,163/yr	13.5x
76	Louisiana Tech University Ruston, LA · Public	58 56–59	$65,739/yr	15.2x
77	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI · Public	58 56–58	$77,169/yr	12.1x
78	Wayne State University Detroit, MI · Public	58 56–59	$77,815/yr	12.6x
79	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN · Public	58 56–59	$77,781/yr	12.6x
80	Lamar University Beaumont, TX · Public	58 57–59	$62,053/yr	16.9x
81	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public	57 55–58	$72,440/yr	12.3x
82	Texas A & M University-Commerce Commerce, TX · Public	57 56–58	$63,269/yr	14.8x
83	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA · Public	56 55–57	$65,285/yr	12.7x
84	University of South Carolina Aiken Aiken, SC · Public	56 54–56	$60,091/yr	13.0x
85	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT · Public	56 54–57	$77,692/yr	10.1x
86	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT · Public	56 54–57	$77,692/yr	10.1x
87	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT · Public	56 54–57	$77,692/yr	10.1x
88	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT · Public	56 54–57	$77,692/yr	10.1x
89	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT · Public	55 52–55	$77,692/yr	8.5x
90	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL · Private nonprofit	55 53–56	$71,089/yr	2.6x
91	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA · Public	54 52–54	$70,554/yr	9.2x
92	University of San Diego San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit	50 48–51	$80,644/yr	2.6x
93	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA · Private nonprofit	49 47–50	$77,994/yr	2.3x

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Industrial Engineering?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score, SUNY Maritime College ranks #1 for Industrial Engineering with a score of 78/100 and graduate earnings of $91,470/yr.

How much do Industrial Engineering graduates earn?

Across 93 schools, Industrial Engineering graduates earn an average of $73,874/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $91,470/yr.

Is Industrial Engineering a good major for AI resistance?

Industrial Engineering has an average AI task exposure of 50%, rated "High". This field has moderate AI exposure — some career paths are more resilient than others.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.