Given how much the average MBA student invests in their degree, it’s not surprise that post-MBA pay is a top priority for prospective students.
Students rely on the prospect of a post-MBA wage increase to cover tuition fees, which can be substantial. Consider the Columbia MBA, the most costly full-time MBA program, with tuition alone costing over $169,000, or MIT Sloan, which has tuition costs of $164,000 for the two-year program.
However, given the eye-watering wages that some MBA graduates might anticipate to earn, the expense does not seem as high. According to the 2024 Financial Times MBA Ranking, the following business schools offer the highest MBA wages three years after graduation.
1. Stanford Graduate School of Business (USA)
Stanford Graduate School of Management, the alma mater of current UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is one of the world’s most elite universities and the most difficult to gain admission to.
Stanford MBAs may expect to earn the best wages among all MBA graduates from the top 100 schools. After three years, average incomes total $250,650, representing a 117% rise over pre-MBA salaries.
2. Harvard Business School (USA)
Harvard Business School is the oldest academic school in the United States and is consistently ranked at the top of the Financial Times.
A Harvard MBA is worth its weight in gold, especially because graduates are predicted to earn an average of $246,509 per year after three years. Harvard’s financial success has also made it one of the most charitable universities, with roughly half of its students receiving financial scholarships.
3. Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, USA.
Despite slipping out of the 2023 FT list, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School has risen to the top of the rankings this year. The institution, known for its financial strength and great earning potential, outperformed last year’s top two schools, INSEAD and Columbia Business institution.
Within three years of graduation, Wharton grads may expect to earn $245,772 per year, a 121% increase over pre-MBA wages.
4. Columbia Business School (USA)
Columbia Business School’s Manhattan campus and closeness to Wall Street have continually made it a top choice for people looking to work in finance.
The school is now joint third in the FT overall ranking, down two spots from first place last year. Nonetheless, the school’s salary performance helped it achieve a high overall score. Columbia MBAs make an average of $232,760 after three years.
5. Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
Given MIT’s reputation as one of the world’s greatest colleges and its notoriously tough admissions procedure, its graduates are in high demand. And there’s good news for MBA graduates in terms of compensation: after three years, MIT MBAs may expect to earn an average of $229,639 per year.
6. Booth School of Business, University of Chicago (USA)
The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business ranks 10th in the overall FT rating and is the sixth highest FT-ranked school for MBA wages in 2024, offering students a solid return on investment.
Booth MBA graduates may expect to earn over $228,901 per year on average after three years, a 126% increase over their pre-MBA wages.
As many as 94% of Booth graduates find jobs within three months, demonstrating the mentoring and counsel MBA students receive when they enroll. Booth MBAs should consider more than just salary—the school has produced more Nobel laureates than any other management school in the United States.
7. Haas School of Business at University of California Berkeley, USA.
On the west coast of the United States, UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business has built a reputation for generating high-flying graduates with even higher pay.
Enrolling in the Haas MBA is not only appealing because of the warm California campus; the school is also known for its prominent faculty members, including Hal Varian, Google’s chief economist.
The world-class education on offer makes Haas alumni extremely marketable, with average annual wages of $218,992 within three years.
8. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (USA)
Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management remains highly regarded in the Financial Times’ Global MBA Ranking, having been in the top ten for three years running.
The appeal of living in Chicago, along with the possibility of earning an average annual salary of $216,134 within three years, makes this business school an apparent choice for many MBA applicants.
9. Shanghai University of Finance and Economics College of Business (China)
The College of Business at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics offers one of Asia’s best Global MBA programs. The school’s good pay prospects help to cement its status as the continent’s third top business school and the second best in China.
Graduates earn an average of $211,973 within three years, representing a 190% increase in compensation over pre-MBA levels.
10. Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, USA.
Tuck’s famous MBA program at the New Hampshire Ivy League school has a diverse student group, with 44% of the class being female. The high post-degree pay of $211,515 after three years has made ‘Tuckies’ the most charitable graduates, with more than two-thirds donating to the school.
