NJ is 3rd in the U.S. for highest earning grads: See who beats us

Here in New Jersey, we have always prided ourselves on the level of excellence of our educational system.

Whether it’s public school, private school, charter, all grades, all levels, including colleges and universities, and even community colleges, we’ve always been able to provide a world-class education in this state.

So not surprisingly, our New Jersey graduates are killing it when it comes to top salaries. A recent study tells the story, revealing that these grads are raking in some admirable salaries as compared with the rest of the country.

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For instance, we're talking an average annual paycheck of $58,904, four years post-college. That’s pretty impressive when you look at the numbers. And that makes us number two in the country for highest earning grads, according to a new study by degree choices.

Also, not surprisingly, at the top of the list are graduates from Stevens Institute of Technology, pulling in an impressive $94,319 on average. We owe our high ranking largely to the Stevens guys and girls.

They gathered data on over 5,500 institutions that mostly grant 4-year degrees. Then, they aggregated the data by state, figuring out whose graduates earn the most, 4 years after getting their degree.

While Massachusetts might be strutting its stuff at the top with an average salary of $59,862, we're holding our own over here.

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It is, actually, pretty hard to compete with MIT grads who are bringing in a whopping $129,392.

Connecticut's not far behind, Mass, with its grads pocketing around $59,356. (Shoutout to the American Sentinel College of Nursing and Health Science for churning out some real money-makers, averaging $91,818 annually.)

States with the lowest-earning college graduates are Arkansas, Mississippi and New Mexico.

Joining us up there at the top of the list are other states like California, Nevada, Maryland, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Washington, and Delaware with salaries ranging from $54,810 to $58,441.

But to be number three in the entire nation, seems like we must be doing a pretty good job.

LOOK: Highest paying jobs in Philadelphia for high school graduates

Stacker ranked the 50 highest-paying jobs in Philadelphia for high school graduates, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Gallery Credit: Stacker

New Jersey high school graduation rates

The lists below show 4-year graduation rates for New Jersey public schools for the 2020-21 school year. The statewide graduation rate fell slightly, from 91% in 2019-20 to 90.6%.

The lists, which are sorted by county and include a separate list for charter schools, also include a second graduation rate, which excludes students whose special education IEPs allow them to qualify for diplomas despite not meeting typical coursework and attendance requirements.

Columns with an asterisk or 'N' indicate there was no data or it was suppressed to protect student privacy.

Gallery Credit: Michael Symons

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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