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Best Schools for Aerospace Engineering in 2026

57 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Aerospace Engineering, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Aerospace Engineering graduate earns $73,060/yr across 57 schools.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$73,060/yr

Avg DW Score

67/100

AI Risk

High

47% task exposure

All Aerospace Engineering Programs Ranked

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

#	Program	DW Score	Earnings	AI Risk	ROI
1	Aerospace Engineering California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo · San Luis Obispo, CA	74 68–75	$85,509/yr	High	24.4x
2	Aerospace Engineering California State Polytechnic University-Pomona · Pomona, CA	74 68–75	$78,320/yr	High	31.6x
3	Aerospace Engineering San Diego State University · San Diego, CA	73 67–74	$74,375/yr	High	27.2x
4	Aerospace Engineering University of Florida · Gainesville, FL	73 67–74	$70,760/yr	High	38.3x
5	Aerospace Engineering University of Maryland-College Park · College Park, MD	73 67–74	$78,631/yr	High	22.1x
6	Aerospace Engineering University of Central Florida · Orlando, FL	72 66–73	$67,953/yr	High	32.3x
7	Aerospace Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus · Atlanta, GA	73 67–73	$79,300/yr	High	20.7x
8	Aerospace Engineering Iowa State University · Ames, IA	72 67–73	$75,036/yr	High	21.0x
9	Aerospace Engineering North Carolina State University at Raleigh · Raleigh, NC	72 66–73	$70,820/yr	High	25.5x
10	Aerospace Engineering The University of Texas at Austin · Austin, TX	73 68–73	$81,022/yr	High	20.5x
11	Aerospace Engineering West Virginia University Institute of Technology · Beckley, WV	73 67–74	$72,210/yr	High	29.0x
12	Aerospace Engineering West Virginia University · Morgantown, WV	72 66–73	$72,210/yr	High	24.1x
13	Aerospace Engineering Purdue University-Main Campus · West Lafayette, IN	72 66–73	$71,989/yr	High	23.5x
14	Aerospace Engineering California State University-Long Beach · Long Beach, CA	72 66–73	$66,477/yr	High	34.4x
15	Aerospace Engineering Mississippi State University · Mississippi State, MS	71 65–72	$69,056/yr	High	22.9x
16	Aerospace Engineering New Mexico State University-Main Campus · Las Cruces, NM	72 66–73	$68,002/yr	High	28.3x
17	Aerospace Engineering The University of Texas at Arlington · Arlington, TX	72 67–71	$78,005/yr	High	18.0x
18	Aerospace Engineering University of Washington-Seattle Campus · Seattle, WA	72 66–72	$76,881/yr	High	19.3x
19	Aerospace Engineering Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide · Daytona Beach, FL	72 66–72	$75,483/yr	High	20.0x
20	Aerospace Engineering The University of Alabama · Tuscaloosa, AL	71 66–71	$73,887/yr	High	18.7x
21	Aerospace Engineering Arizona State University Campus Immersion · Tempe, AZ	71 65–71	$71,712/yr	High	19.2x
22	Aerospace Engineering University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus · Norman, OK	72 67–72	$72,607/yr	High	17.9x
23	Aerospace Engineering Texas A & M University-College Station · College Station, TX	71 65–71	$74,524/yr	High	17.4x
24	Aerospace Engineering Auburn University · Auburn, AL	69 63–70	$68,607/yr	High	18.1x
25	Aerospace Engineering University of Colorado Boulder · Boulder, CO	70 65–69	$81,835/yr	High	14.7x
26	Aerospace Engineering University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL	70 63–70	$75,859/yr	High	16.1x
27	Aerospace Engineering Wichita State University · Wichita, KS	69 64–70	$61,526/yr	High	21.1x
28	Aerospace Engineering University of Michigan-Ann Arbor · Ann Arbor, MI	70 64–70	$80,225/yr	High	15.4x
29	Aerospace Engineering Missouri University of Science and Technology · Rolla, MO	70 65–69	$76,183/yr	High	15.6x
30	Aerospace Engineering University at Buffalo · Buffalo, NY	70 65–70	$69,716/yr	High	18.4x
31	Aerospace Engineering Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University · Blacksburg, VA	70 64–69	$76,856/yr	High	15.2x
32	Aerospace Engineering University of California-Davis · Davis, CA	68 62–68	$71,633/yr	High	15.1x
33	Aerospace Engineering University of California-Irvine · Irvine, CA	68 62–69	$67,425/yr	High	17.0x
34	Aerospace Engineering University of California-Los Angeles · Los Angeles, CA	69 63–69	$71,068/yr	High	16.7x
35	Aerospace Engineering University of Cincinnati-Main Campus · Cincinnati, OH	70 65–68	$74,992/yr	High	15.0x
36	Aerospace Engineering Ohio State University-Main Campus · Columbus, OH	70 64–69	$72,062/yr	High	16.2x
37	Aerospace Engineering University of Arizona · Tucson, AZ	66 58–69	$57,456/yr	High	18.0x
38	Aerospace Engineering University of California-San Diego · La Jolla, CA	67 60–69	$65,401/yr	High	16.6x
39	Aerospace Engineering University of Kansas · Lawrence, KS	70 65–69	$71,244/yr	High	14.2x
40	Aerospace Engineering Western Michigan University · Kalamazoo, MI	68 61–68	$69,514/yr	High	15.5x
41	Aerospace Engineering Oklahoma State University-Main Campus · Stillwater, OK	70 65–69	$68,226/yr	High	15.7x
42	Aerospace Engineering University of Alabama in Huntsville · Huntsville, AL	69 65–68	$70,383/yr	High	13.9x
43	Aerospace Engineering University of Minnesota-Twin Cities · Minneapolis, MN	64 60–63	$68,495/yr	High	11.4x
44	Aerospace Engineering University of Virginia-Main Campus · Charlottesville, VA	65 60–63	$77,922/yr	High	10.1x
45	Aerospace Engineering Rutgers University-New Brunswick · New Brunswick, NJ	64 60–62	$69,320/yr	High	9.1x
46	Aerospace Engineering Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott · Prescott, AZ	57 51–58	$75,483/yr	High	4.8x
47	Aerospace Engineering Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach · Daytona Beach, FL	57 51–58	$75,483/yr	High	4.8x
48	Aerospace Engineering University of Southern California · Los Angeles, CA	55 49–56	$78,980/yr	High	3.2x
49	Aerospace Engineering Florida Institute of Technology · Melbourne, FL	55 49–56	$69,149/yr	High	4.6x
50	Aerospace Engineering University of Notre Dame · Notre Dame, IN	56 50–56	$81,057/yr	High	2.9x
51	Aerospace Engineering Saint Louis University · Saint Louis, MO	55 50–56	$75,122/yr	High	3.3x
52	Aerospace Engineering Worcester Polytechnic Institute · Worcester, MA	55 49–55	$75,218/yr	High	3.2x
53	Aerospace Engineering Clarkson University · Potsdam, NY	54 48–55	$71,783/yr	High	3.1x
54	Aerospace Engineering Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · Troy, NY	54 48–55	$73,213/yr	High	3.0x
55	Aerospace Engineering Case Western Reserve University · Cleveland, OH	55 50–55	$83,639/yr	High	2.5x
56	Aerospace Engineering Syracuse University · Syracuse, NY	53 48–54	$71,417/yr	High	2.9x
57	Aerospace Engineering Illinois Institute of Technology · Chicago, IL	52 46–52	$63,169/yr	High	2.7x

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 Aerospace Engineering?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo ranks #1 for Aerospace Engineering with a score of 74/100 and graduate earnings of $85,509/yr.

How much do Aerospace Engineering graduates earn?

Across 57 schools, Aerospace Engineering graduates earn an average of $73,060/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $85,509/yr.

Is Aerospace Engineering a good major for AI resistance?

Aerospace Engineering has an average AI task exposure of 47%, 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.