What Architecture Graduates Earn
How much do Architecture bachelor's graduates earn?
One year out, the median bachelor's graduate in Architecture earns $55,083; five years out, $70,789. The figures pool 2,926 graduates counted at the first horizon, and the median debt carried out of school is $22,000.
The after side of the Architecture decision: a $55,083 start, $70,789 by year five, and $22,000 of median debt, measured by the federal government rather than surveyed by marketers.
Updated November 5, 2026
Median earnings at 1, 4, and 5 years (College Scorecard)
Nothing on this page is a survey response or a recruiter's claim: the $55,083 year-one median and the $70,789 year-five median for Architecture come from federal earnings records pooled across 132 bachelor's programs. The headline median weights programs by graduates counted (2,926 at year one); the second column is the unweighted median program, printed so the method stays visible.
| Horizon | Median earnings (graduate-weighted) | Median program (unweighted) | Graduates counted | Share earning above the high-school threshold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year after graduation | $55,083 | $54,218 | 2,926 | 65.4% |
| 4 years after graduation | $67,122 | $67,178 | 3,902 | n/p |
| 5 years after graduation | $70,789 | $70,989 | 4,253 | 81.4% |
Earnings in this field climb $15,706 between the first and fifth year, a 29% rise that beats the all-fields pattern (the median field in this dataset pays $45,010 at year one and $65,763 at year five). Early-career growth this shape usually means the first job is a foothold: licensure, a portfolio, or a first promotion does the heavy lifting.
One more cut of the year-one data: Pell recipients in Architecture post a median of $55,860, non-recipients $55,398. That $462 gap is the distance between two different student populations studying under one field name, and it narrows or widens by institution, which the program table below hints at.
Inside its own CIP family, Architecture ranks 4 of 4 published bachelor's fields by five-year earnings; the family median at that horizon is $71,657. Its closest sibling is Landscape Architecture at $71,657, above this field's $70,789. Family comparisons strip out the broad field effect and leave the specific program choice exposed.
Ranked across all 182 published fields, Architecture stands number 77 by five-year earnings and number 62 by first-year earnings, and number 123 from the lowest median debt. Those three ranks together are the field's fingerprint: high earn rank with a low debt rank is the combination students are actually shopping for, and this field's spread between them is 46 places.
The debt side of the same degree
Across the 52 programs that report debt for Architecture, the median graduate owes $22,000. Set beside the $55,083 year-one median, the debt is 40% of first-year gross earnings, about 4.8 months of pay before tax. Repaid on the standard 10-year schedule at 6.52%, it costs $250 monthly and $8,004 in interest. The student loan payoff calculator replays that schedule with your numbers, and the college ROI calculator weighs the full cost against the earnings table above.
Where graduates of this field earn the most
Where a student studies inside this field matters at least as much as the field itself. These five programs post the strongest five-year medians in Architecture among programs with at least 30 graduates in the count, led by University of Notre Dame at $87,617, against a national field median of $70,789.
| Institution | Median earnings, 5 years | Median earnings, 1 year | Median debt | Graduates counted (5yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Notre Dame | $87,617 | $70,513 | $24,500 | 37 |
| University of California-Berkeley | $87,387 | $60,494 | $13,156 | 79 |
| University of Southern California | $86,508 | n/p | n/p | 38 |
| Boston Architectural College | $86,036 | $66,206 | $31,860 | 55 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | $82,532 | $66,434 | $27,250 | 51 |
A median is a middle graduate, not a promise: half of University of Notre Dame's counted graduates earn less than $87,617. Weigh any program here against its own price using the net price estimator and the degree cost calculator.
Two more facts about the shape of this field: the five highest-paying programs in the table account for only 6.1% of the 4,253 graduates counted at five years, so the top of the table is a thin slice and not the field's center; and the leading program's five-year median of $87,617 sits 24% above the national field median of $70,789. Its median debt, $24,500, runs above the field median of $22,000, which is the trade a student at the top of this table is actually being offered.
Frequently asked questions
How much do Architecture graduates earn?
The national median is $55,083 one year after graduation and $70,789 five years after, across the 58 bachelor's programs reporting 1-year earnings to College Scorecard (October 2026 release), weighted by graduates counted.
How much debt do Architecture graduates carry?
The median cumulative federal loan debt at graduation is $22,000. On a standard 10-year plan at 6.52% that is $250 a month and $8,004 of interest in total.
How were the Architecture national figures computed?
Scorecard publishes one median per program; this page takes the median of those program medians weighted by each program's graduates counted (2,926 people at year one), and prints the unweighted median program beside it. The field cleared a publication bar of at least 10 programs reporting at every horizon.
Is a degree in Architecture worth it?
The inputs are on this page: $70,789 median earnings at year five against $22,000 median debt. The verdict depends on your actual cost, so run your numbers through the college ROI calculator and the college major ROI calculator.