Highest-Paying Construction Engineering Technology (Bachelor's) Programs in the US

Q: Which state pays construction engineering technology bachelor's graduates the most?

Florida, where the median program pays its graduates $73,602 in their first year, the highest of 2 state rankings. Texas is next, at $72,266.

Q: Which construction engineering technology bachelor's program pays the most?

Cal State Long Beach in California reports the highest first-year pay of the 45 programs ranked here, $89,003. Its median federal debt is $17,866.

45 programs report first-year pay
2 state rankings
Bachelor's in Construction Engineering Technology/Technician

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median construction engineering technology bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $72,240 in their first year and $91,651 five years after. Florida has the highest state median ($73,602), and Texas the lowest ($72,266). The median program leaves its graduates with $24,745 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$72,240Across 45 programs

Median pay after 5 years$91,651Across 35 programs

Median federal debt$24,745Across 38 programs

Debt-to-earnings34%Across 38 programs

All 45 programs, ranked by graduate pay

Each program is ranked by the median pay of its graduates one year after they finished, from College Scorecard. This measures what graduates earn, not how good the teaching is. Pay also depends on where graduates live and work. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	After cost of living	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Cal State Long BeachLong Beach, CA · public	$89,003	$80,386	$116,039	$17,866	20%
2	Chico StateChico, CA · public	$88,648	$80,065	Not reported	$21,104	24%
3	Cal Poly PomonaPomona, CA · public	$87,960	$79,444	$111,388	$16,067	18%
4	San Diego StateSan Diego, CA · public	$81,608	$73,707	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
5	Washington StatePullman, WA · public	$80,404	$75,135	Not reported	$28,550	36%
6	University of FloridaGainesville, FL · public	$79,410	$76,788	$112,831	$14,738	19%
7	CSUNNorthridge, CA · public	$79,352	$71,669	$102,821	Not reported	Not reported
8	Fresno StateFresno, CA · public	$78,716	$71,095	$105,173	$12,985	16%
9	Colorado StateFort Collins, CO · public	$78,423	$76,100	$100,451	$25,000	32%
10	ASUTempe, AZ · public	$78,253	$77,727	Not reported	$22,750	29%
11	South Dakota StateBrookings, SD · public	$77,949	Not adjusted	$74,022	$25,000	32%
12	Texas A&MCollege Station, TX · public	$77,799	$80,158	$101,224	$20,500	26%
13	Montana StateBozeman, MT · public	$77,139	$81,504	$89,788	$27,044	35%
14	Texas StateSan Marcos, TX · public	$76,646	$78,970	$96,457	$22,718	30%
15	University of North FloridaJacksonville, FL · public	$75,407	$72,918	$91,779	$22,364	30%
16	Michigan StateEast Lansing, MI · public	$74,518	$77,448	$103,264	$25,363	34%
17	Kansas StateManhattan, KS · public	$74,253	$82,441	$94,083	$27,000	36%
18	North Dakota StateFargo, ND · public	$74,199	Not adjusted	Not reported	$27,000	36%
19	Oklahoma StateStillwater, OK · public	$73,900	$84,127	$104,699	$24,525	33%
20	University of HoustonHouston, TX · public	$73,694	$75,929	$94,660	$22,629	31%
21	FIUMiami, FL · public	$73,602	$71,172	$92,297	$22,000	30%
22	UNTDenton, TX · public	$72,266	$74,457	Not reported	$27,000	37%
23	Temple UniversityPhiladelphia, PA · public	$72,240	$74,038	Not reported	$28,250	39%
24	Sam Houston StateHuntsville, TX · public	$72,116	$74,303	$89,884	$25,000	35%
25	UA Little RockLittle Rock, AR · public	$71,845	$82,640	$75,135	$20,250	28%
26	University of Nebraska-LincolnLincoln, NE · public	$71,797	$79,683	$91,651	$24,964	35%
27	FAMUTallahassee, FL · public	$70,804	Not adjusted	$86,449	$31,000	44%
28	Tarleton StateStephenville, TX · public	$70,481	$72,618	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
29	Farmingdale State CollegeFarmingdale, NY · public	$69,942	$64,809	$89,551	$17,500	25%
30	Purdue NorthwestHammond, IN · public	$68,284	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
31	City TechBrooklyn, NY · public	$67,476	$62,524	$84,308	$10,900	16%
32	Southern Illinois University EdwardsvilleEdwardsville, IL · public	$67,450	$67,478	$104,657	Not reported	Not reported
33	Georgia Southern UniversityStatesboro, GA · public	$67,235	$69,823	$101,493	$26,000	39%
34	UNC CharlotteCharlotte, NC · public	$67,199	$71,241	$79,769	$27,000	40%
35	University of AkronAkron, OH · public	$66,780	$71,981	$81,565	$25,000	37%
36	Seminole State College of FloridaSanford, FL · public	$65,994	$63,815	Not reported	$17,116	26%
37	University of ToledoToledo, OH · public	$65,585	$70,693	$79,425	$24,225	37%
38	University of MaineOrono, ME · public	$65,540	$67,532	$79,068	$27,000	41%
39	Western Carolina UniversityCullowhee, NC · public	$63,401	$67,215	$85,272	$27,000	43%
40	Western Kentucky UniversityBowling Green, KY · public	$63,013	$69,891	$89,806	$29,000	46%
41	Prairie View A&M UniversityPrairie View, TX · public	$61,068	$62,920	$82,312	$31,000	51%
42	Purdue Fort WayneFort Wayne, IN · public	$58,954	$63,168	$73,207	$22,590	38%
43	Louisiana Tech UniversityRuston, LA · public	$58,151	$65,926	Not reported	$21,750	37%
44	Wayne StateDetroit, MI · public	$53,310	$55,406	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
45	Missouri Western StateSaint Joseph, MO · public	$47,141	$51,908	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported

Pay after cost of living divides first-year pay by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level of the school's state, where the US average is 100. It is shown for 41 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 4, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

7 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked.

Construction Engineering Technology (Bachelor's) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's construction engineering technology bachelor's programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Florida	5	$73,602	$22,000
Texas	7	$72,266	$23,859

Programs in 23 more states and territories report pay, but too few to rank. A state ranking needs at least five programs that report both pay and debt.

Quick picks nationwide

Lowest median debt

University of Florida, FL$14,738
Seminole State College of Florida, FL$17,116
Texas A&M, TX$20,500
FIU, FL$22,000
University of North Florida, FL$22,364
University of Houston, TX$22,629
Texas State, TX$22,718
Sam Houston State, TX$25,000
UNT, TX$27,000
FAMU, FL$31,000

Lowest debt for the pay

University of Florida, FL19%
Seminole State College of Florida, FL26%
Texas A&M, TX26%
Texas State, TX30%
University of North Florida, FL30%
FIU, FL30%
University of Houston, TX31%
Sam Houston State, TX35%
UNT, TX37%
FAMU, FL44%

Only the 11 programs with their own page here are included. "Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to construction engineering technology, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Construction Managers

$114,990

Median pay in the US. 380,360 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 49,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $69,690Top 10%: $189,440

Cost Estimators

$78,740

Median pay in the US. 224,220 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $48,530Top 10%: $130,820

Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians

$64,950

Median pay in the US. 68,520 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $44,220Top 10%: $98,980

Common questions

The median construction engineering technology bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $72,240 in their first year and $91,651 five years after.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
National medians include every program in the 50 states, DC, and US territories, including schools that have since closed. Schools with several campuses that report one combined figure are counted once.
Programs are ranked by College Scorecard median pay one year after graduation. Pay after cost of living uses the price level of the school's state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024