There are a plethora of reasons to go back to school and earn a top MBA degree, but among the top motivators is getting a salary increase and landing a senior-level position, according to the Graduate Management Admissions Council. Many MBA graduates land starting base salaries nearly triple that of those who earned only a bachelor’s degree.
This boost in pay largely has to do with the growing demand for MBA graduates, Maryellen Reilly, deputy vice dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania’s MBA program, previously told Fortune. Wharton is ranked as the No. 4 full-time MBA program in the country by Fortune, and in 2021 saw its highest-ever median base salary for MBA graduates at $155,000.
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“The job market was keen to hiring MBAs and knew that to compete they had to be able to pay more,” she says. “Everybody’s chasing a pretty finite number of MBAs.”
The average salary for the class of 2021 bachelor’s degree graduates was $55,911, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. However, PayScale data shows that the average base salary for MBA graduates in the U.S. is $92,000. By comparison, GMAC reports the median base salary for MBA graduates as $115,000. This data doesn’t discern between modes of earning an MBA, whether in-person, online, or a hybrid program.
“Employers clearly place a high value on acquiring MBA and business master’s graduates,” Sangeet Chowfla, GMAC president and CEO, said in a statement. “We are seeing a highly active candidate marketplace in terms of geographical shifts in study destinations, but the value that both employers and graduates see in an advanced business degree is a constant.”
Fortune ranks the top full-time, in-person MBA programs in the U.S., and our methodology heavily weighs graduate outcomes, which includes starting base salaries (not including bonuses). Using data collected during our MBA ranking process, Fortune has compiled the top five MBA programs with the highest mean starting salaries, based on 2022 data.
1. Stanford Graduate School of Business
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 5
Median base salary: $158,400
Tuition: $76,950 per year
Average GMAT score: 738
Average undergrad GPA: 3.78
Acceptance rate: 6.2%
T2. New York University (Stern)
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 7
Median base salary: $155,000
Tuition: $82,326 per year
Average GMAT score: 729
Average undergrad GPA: 3.59
Acceptance rate: 19%
T2. University of Chicago (Booth)
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 2
Median base salary: $155,000
Tuition: $77,841 per year
Average GMAT score: 732
Average undergrad GPA: 3.54
Acceptance rate: 23%
T2. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 4
Median base salary: $155,000
Tuition: $84,874
Average GMAT score: 733
Average undergrad GPA: 3.6
Acceptance rate: 18%
5. Harvard Business School
Fortune full-time MBA ranking: No. 1
Median base salary: $150,500
Tuition: $73,440
Average GMAT score: 730
Average undergrad GPA: 3.69
Acceptance rate: 13%
Check out all of Fortune’s rankings of degree programs, and learn more about specific career paths.
GMAT waivers are available for the online MBA from Rice Business, ranked a Top-20 Online MBA by U.S. News & World Report. Ranked #1 in graduate entrepreneurship in the U.S. by the Princeton Review for 2024, aspiring entrepreneurs can earn their MBA in as few as 24 months.
