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2026 Highest Paid Operations Research Graduates

[Operations Research](/majors/engineering/operations-research/) graduates earn very different salaries depending on where they study. The highest-paying schools turn a operations research degree into the strongest early-career earnings.

College Factual analyzed 5 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the highest-paying operations research schools.

What’s on this page:

• Customize Your Rankings
• Highest Paid Operations Research Schools List
• Narrow by Region

Finding the Highest Paying Operations Research School for You

Where you study operations research affects what graduates go on to earn. That is why we developed our Highest Paid Operations Research Graduates ranking. We rank each school on the early-career earnings of its operations research graduates to surface the highest-paying programs.

See how we build our rankings

Customize Your Rankings

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we offer several rankings, including this Highest Paid Operations Research Graduates list, to help you choose. Want schools in a particular part of the country? Narrow the list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we have developed a unique tool called College Combat that lets you compare schools on the factors that matter most to you.

Learn more about our methodology

2026 Highest Paid Operations Research Grads in the United States

Below are the schools whose operations research graduates go on to earn the most.

Highest Paid Operations Research Graduates

1

Columbia University In The City Of New York
New York, NY

$199,865 Average Early-Career Salary

Columbia University In The City Of New York tops our 2026 list of the highest-paying operations research schools in the United States. Located in the city of New York, Columbia University In The City Of New York is a private not-for-profit institution. After graduating, operations research degree recipients from Columbia University In The City Of New York typically earn about $199,865 annually.

2

Cornell University
Ithaca, NY

$151,071 Average Early-Career Salary

Strong graduate earnings at Cornell University earned it the #2 place for operations research. Cornell University is a private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca. Students who complete the operations research program here go on to a median salary of roughly $151,071.

3

Princeton University
Princeton, NJ

$100,354 Average Early-Career Salary

Strong graduate earnings at Princeton University earned it the #3 place for operations research. Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton University is a private not-for-profit institution. Students who complete the operations research program here go on to a median salary of roughly $100,354.

4

Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX

$123,913 Average Early-Career Salary

A rank of #4 makes Southern Methodist University one of the highest-paying schools for operations research. Southern Methodist University is a private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Dallas. Early-career operations research graduates from Southern Methodist University make a median of around $123,913 per year.

5

University Of California Berkeley
Berkeley, CA

$88,685 Average Early-Career Salary

Strong graduate earnings at University Of California Berkeley earned it the #5 place for operations research. Located in the city of Berkeley, University Of California Berkeley is a public institution. Early-career operations research graduates from University Of California Berkeley make a median of around $88,685 per year.

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Notes and References

The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition. Schools are ranked on the median early-career earnings of their operations research graduates, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).

Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 5 schools evaluated.

*Salary figures reflect median early-career earnings (about 5 years after graduation) and may vary by how long a person takes to complete their degree.

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Graduate earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard) field-of-study earnings.

More about our data sources and methodologies.