Clarkson University is ranked in the top-140 of Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S., and also ranked in the top-40 of Wall Street Journal’s Best Salaries list.
Clarkson ranked particularly high in Salary Impact Score, which measures the extent to which a college boosts its graduates’ salaries beyond what they would be expected to earn regardless of which college they attended. Clarkson’s Salary Impact Score was 96 percent
The Payscale College Salary Report ranks Clarkson in the Top 2% of the Best Universities and Colleges by Salary Potential. The site reports that Clarkson graduates’ average early career salary is $82,900 annually.
The WSJ/College Pulse 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S. ranking was developed and executed in collaboration with its research partners College Pulse and Statista, according to the ranking’s methodology. The ranking scores colleges based on weighted components grouped into three categories: student outcomes, learning environment, and diversity.
Clarkson remains dedicated to offering small class sizes that support students with personalized learning; full-time faculty teaching in the classroom with top credentials in their area of expertise; and a commitment to lifetime alumni engagement. Overall, more than 98 percent of Clarkson grads found placement in their chosen field within six months of their graduation.
The Wall Street Journal Ranking comes just after Clarkson was ranked in the top 50 Best Value Schools in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News & World Report also ranked Clarkson’s undergraduate Engineering program in the top 125, Computer Science Program in the top 200 and the undergraduate Business Program in the top 225.
Last month, Forbes named Clarkson in the top 250 best colleges in the nation, and #87 in the Northeast, and Clarkson was also recently featured in the Princeton Review’s Best 390 Colleges for 2025, further proving the value and ROI of a Clarkson education.
For more information on other rankings, visit our accolades page here.