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Chemical Engineering Degree

158 schools compared · Average earnings $72,288/yr

Schools Offering

158

Avg Grad Earnings

$72,288/yr

Avg DegreeWorth Score

54/100

AI Automation Risk

High

54% task exposure

Best Schools for Chemical Engineering

Top 158 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	AI Risk	ROI
1	Lamar University Beaumont, TX	74 68–76	$87,284/yr	High	30.8x
2	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	74 68–77	$87,164/yr	High	40.0x
3	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI	74 68–75	$84,047/yr	High	22.8x
4	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	73 67–75	$87,365/yr	High	22.7x
5	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	73 66–75	$86,176/yr	High	22.6x
6	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	73 67–74	$85,945/yr	High	21.8x
7	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	73 67–74	$85,847/yr	High	20.6x
8	University of Houston Houston, TX	73 68–75	$84,468/yr	High	24.5x
9	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	73 67–75	$82,466/yr	High	24.9x
10	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	73 67–76	$81,492/yr	High	28.1x
11	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	73 67–74	$81,105/yr	High	22.8x
12	North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC	73 68–75	$78,323/yr	High	31.3x
13	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS	73 67–75	$78,183/yr	High	25.6x
14	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	73 67–76	$77,565/yr	High	41.2x
15	Auburn University Auburn, AL	72 66–74	$82,217/yr	High	20.5x
16	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	72 66–73	$81,777/yr	High	19.1x
17	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE	72 67–73	$79,603/yr	High	21.0x
18	Louisiana Tech University Ruston, LA	72 67–73	$79,157/yr	High	18.5x
19	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK	72 67–74	$77,751/yr	High	22.6x
20	Kansas State University Manhattan, KS	72 66–74	$77,492/yr	High	23.2x
21	University of Mississippi University, MS	72 66–73	$76,685/yr	High	19.4x
22	Iowa State University Ames, IA	72 66–73	$76,184/yr	High	21.9x
23	University of Idaho Moscow, ID	72 67–74	$75,915/yr	High	23.4x
24	New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM	72 67–74	$75,766/yr	High	26.4x
25	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR	72 66–74	$75,102/yr	High	25.0x
26	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	72 66–74	$73,841/yr	High	24.5x
27	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	72 66–75	$70,797/yr	High	42.4x
28	University of South Florida Tampa, FL	72 66–74	$70,659/yr	High	31.9x
29	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	71 64–74	$81,553/yr	High	20.3x
30	University of Toledo Toledo, OH	71 66–72	$79,750/yr	High	18.4x
31	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	71 66–73	$78,813/yr	High	20.2x
32	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	71 65–72	$77,586/yr	High	19.3x
33	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	71 65–72	$75,340/yr	High	19.7x
34	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA	71 64–74	$74,786/yr	High	22.3x
35	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	71 65–73	$72,868/yr	High	22.8x
36	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Rapid City, SD	71 65–73	$72,785/yr	High	23.6x
37	University of South Alabama Mobile, AL	71 65–72	$71,116/yr	High	21.7x
38	West Virginia University Institute of Technology Beckley, WV	71 65–73	$69,875/yr	High	26.8x
39	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	71 65–74	$69,009/yr	High	33.8x
40	Ohio University-Eastern Campus Saint Clairsville, OH	71 65–73	$67,322/yr	High	34.7x
41	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus Chillicothe, OH	71 65–73	$67,322/yr	High	34.7x
42	Ohio University-Southern Campus Ironton, OH	71 65–73	$67,322/yr	High	34.7x
43	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus Lancaster, OH	71 65–73	$67,322/yr	High	34.7x
44	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus Zanesville, OH	71 65–73	$67,322/yr	High	34.7x
45	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH	70 65–71	$82,372/yr	High	16.1x
46	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	70 64–71	$79,737/yr	High	16.4x
47	University of Maine Orono, ME	70 65–71	$78,838/yr	High	16.6x
48	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	70 65–72	$77,455/yr	High	17.9x
49	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	70 64–72	$76,680/yr	High	18.1x
50	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC	70 64–72	$75,680/yr	High	18.7x
51	University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND	70 65–72	$73,112/yr	High	20.1x
52	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV	70 64–72	$69,875/yr	High	22.3x
53	CUNY City College New York, NY	70 65–71	$67,450/yr	High	22.4x
54	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM	70 63–72	$62,907/yr	High	26.7x
55	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	69 64–70	$82,382/yr	High	15.0x
56	Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO	69 64–69	$78,369/yr	High	14.8x
57	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN	69 64–70	$76,302/yr	High	15.6x
58	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	69 63–70	$73,479/yr	High	16.6x
59	University of Akron Main Campus Akron, OH	69 63–70	$71,873/yr	High	17.3x
60	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR	69 63–71	$71,618/yr	High	18.1x
61	University of Louisville Louisville, KY	69 62–71	$70,675/yr	High	18.1x
62	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	69 63–71	$69,809/yr	High	19.4x
63	Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH	69 64–70	$69,609/yr	High	18.2x
64	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY	69 63–71	$67,873/yr	High	19.5x
65	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV	69 63–71	$64,039/yr	High	23.0x
66	University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette, LA	69 62–72	$63,886/yr	High	23.3x
67	Montana State University Bozeman, MT	69 63–71	$62,206/yr	High	24.5x
68	University of Delaware Newark, DE	68 63–68	$80,564/yr	High	13.7x
69	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	68 63–69	$79,023/yr	High	14.0x
70	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	68 62–71	$77,440/yr	High	15.8x
71	Clemson University Clemson, SC	68 62–69	$75,951/yr	High	14.9x
72	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR	68 62–70	$71,618/yr	High	16.8x
73	Wayne State University Detroit, MI	68 61–70	$71,373/yr	High	16.6x
74	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	68 61–70	$67,624/yr	High	18.1x
75	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	67 61–68	$85,772/yr	High	12.8x
76	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA	67 63–67	$79,721/yr	High	13.0x
77	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	67 62–68	$79,551/yr	High	13.5x
78	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA	67 62–69	$77,380/yr	High	14.1x
79	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Johnstown, PA	67 62–69	$73,072/yr	High	14.9x
80	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	67 59–70	$70,359/yr	High	16.5x
81	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	67 61–68	$69,950/yr	High	15.2x
82	Washington State University Pullman, WA	67 62–69	$69,820/yr	High	16.0x
83	Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH	67 62–68	$69,043/yr	High	15.7x
84	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	67 59–70	$68,337/yr	High	16.9x
85	University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD	67 60–70	$66,023/yr	High	18.0x
86	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	67 61–69	$63,870/yr	High	17.5x
87	Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, TN	67 61–70	$60,300/yr	High	20.4x
88	The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN	67 60–70	$57,952/yr	High	21.0x
89	Texas A & M University-Kingsville Kingsville, TX	67 59–70	$55,622/yr	High	22.4x
90	Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI	66 61–66	$80,193/yr	High	11.9x
91	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH	66 61–67	$77,542/yr	High	12.7x
92	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI	66 61–67	$75,406/yr	High	12.6x
93	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	66 60–68	$73,245/yr	High	14.3x
94	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA	66 60–68	$68,245/yr	High	15.0x
95	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH	66 60–68	$67,322/yr	High	15.0x
96	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN	66 60–68	$67,152/yr	High	14.9x
97	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY	66 60–67	$65,389/yr	High	14.8x
98	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	66 59–69	$62,468/yr	High	17.9x
99	Prairie View A & M University Prairie View, TX	66 59–69	$58,627/yr	High	19.6x
100	New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Socorro, NM	66 61–66	$57,215/yr	High	14.8x
101	University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Mayaguez, PR	66 60–69	$47,701/yr	High	37.8x
102	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	65 59–67	$72,514/yr	High	13.0x
103	University of Wyoming Laramie, WY	65 58–68	$46,398/yr	High	30.7x
104	Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI	64 59–65	$68,632/yr	High	12.6x
105	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	64 57–66	$67,777/yr	High	13.2x
106	University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, AL	64 59–64	$60,528/yr	High	11.9x
107	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	64 56–68	$57,540/yr	High	17.0x
108	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	64 57–67	$45,164/yr	High	31.6x
109	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH	63 57–66	$71,599/yr	High	12.1x
110	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	63 57–65	$68,025/yr	High	12.3x
111	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	63 57–65	$68,025/yr	High	12.3x
112	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT	63 57–65	$68,025/yr	High	12.3x
113	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	63 57–65	$68,025/yr	High	12.3x
114	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	63 55–67	$59,508/yr	High	15.0x
115	University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL	63 56–66	$58,377/yr	High	14.8x
116	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA	61 56–63	$73,072/yr	High	9.8x
117	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	61 55–63	$68,025/yr	High	10.4x
118	New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ	61 55–63	$66,617/yr	High	11.0x
119	Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO	60 54–62	$68,318/yr	High	10.3x
120	Rowan University Glassboro, NJ	60 56–60	$61,045/yr	High	8.7x
121	Rice University Houston, TX	56 50–59	$87,830/yr	High	4.1x
122	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IN	56 50–58	$82,394/yr	High	3.7x
123	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	56 49–60	$81,721/yr	High	4.9x
124	University of Dayton Dayton, OH	56 50–58	$79,865/yr	High	4.2x
125	Trine University Angola, IN	56 50–58	$72,875/yr	High	5.3x
126	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	55 49–58	$85,578/yr	High	3.5x
127	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH	55 49–56	$83,706/yr	High	2.8x
128	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	55 49–58	$83,377/yr	High	3.5x
129	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	55 49–57	$82,435/yr	High	3.3x
130	Northeastern University Boston, MA	55 49–56	$81,880/yr	High	3.1x
131	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	55 49–58	$80,709/yr	High	3.6x
132	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	55 49–57	$80,653/yr	High	3.3x
133	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	55 49–59	$80,139/yr	High	4.2x
134	Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ	55 49–56	$79,339/yr	High	3.2x
135	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA	55 49–56	$78,767/yr	High	3.3x
136	Lafayette College Easton, PA	54 49–56	$79,602/yr	High	2.9x
137	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY	54 48–57	$78,263/yr	High	3.3x
138	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA	54 48–56	$77,528/yr	High	3.3x
139	Clarkson University Potsdam, NY	54 48–56	$75,887/yr	High	3.1x
140	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	54 47–56	$75,639/yr	High	3.1x
141	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY	54 48–56	$73,984/yr	High	3.4x
142	Manhattan College Riverdale, NY	54 48–56	$73,333/yr	High	3.8x
143	Kettering University Flint, MI	54 48–55	$71,411/yr	High	2.8x
144	Tufts University Medford, MA	53 47–56	$75,367/yr	High	3.3x
145	Widener University Chester, PA	53 47–56	$71,160/yr	High	3.6x
146	Tuskegee University Tuskegee, AL	53 46–56	$51,473/yr	High	8.0x
147	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	52 46–53	$72,864/yr	High	1.9x
148	Villanova University Villanova, PA	52 46–55	$72,379/yr	High	2.9x
149	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	52 46–55	$71,028/yr	High	3.1x
150	Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL	52 45–54	$64,526/yr	High	3.6x
151	Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO	51 46–52	$69,801/yr	High	1.8x
152	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	51 45–54	$68,234/yr	High	2.9x
153	New York University New York, NY	50 43–54	$60,392/yr	High	3.3x
154	Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL	50 43–55	$53,145/yr	High	5.3x
155	Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI	49 43–51	$55,333/yr	High	2.9x
156	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	48 40–53	$55,154/yr	High	3.3x
157	University of Tulsa Tulsa, OK	48 39–52	$47,705/yr	High	4.5x
158	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	47 39–52	$51,267/yr	High	3.4x

Highest Earning Chemical Engineering Programs

Schools where Chemical Engineering graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score	AI Risk
Rice University	$87,830/yr	56	High
The University of Texas at Austin	$87,365/yr	73	High
Lamar University	$87,284/yr	74	High
University of Florida	$87,164/yr	74	High
Texas A & M University-College Station	$86,176/yr	73	High
University of Wisconsin-Madison	$85,945/yr	73	High
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	$85,847/yr	73	High
University of Virginia-Main Campus	$85,772/yr	67	High
Cornell University	$85,578/yr	55	High
University of Houston	$84,468/yr	73	High

Best ROI for Chemical Engineering

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Chemical Engineering.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
Florida State University	42.4x	$70,797/yr	72
Brigham Young University	41.2x	$77,565/yr	73
University of Florida	40.0x	$87,164/yr	74
University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez	37.8x	$47,701/yr	66
Ohio University-Eastern Campus	34.7x	$67,322/yr	71
Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus	34.7x	$67,322/yr	71
Ohio University-Southern Campus	34.7x	$67,322/yr	71
Ohio University-Lancaster Campus	34.7x	$67,322/yr	71
Ohio University-Zanesville Campus	34.7x	$67,322/yr	71
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	33.8x	$69,009/yr	71

Related Majors

Explore similar fields of study.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Chemical Engineering graduates earn?

Across 158 schools, Chemical Engineering graduates earn an average of $72,288 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $45,164 to $87,830 depending on the school.

What is the AI automation risk for Chemical Engineering?

Chemical Engineering is rated "High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 54% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means most career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

Which school has the best Chemical Engineering program?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), Lamar University ranks #1 for Chemical Engineering with a score of 74/100 and graduate earnings of $87,284/yr.

Is a Chemical Engineering degree worth it?

On average, Chemical Engineering graduates earn 16.1x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a strong return on investment.

About This Data

This page aggregates Chemical Engineering programs across 158 schools using earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024–2034), and AI automation risk research from OpenAI and academic institutions.

The DegreeWorth Score (0–100) combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and return on investment. Each school's program page includes three AI scenarios (optimistic, base case, pessimistic) showing how automation could affect 10-year earnings.

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.