Civil Engineering (Bachelor's) Programs in Virginia, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt
- 5 programs report first-year pay
- 5 also report federal debt
- Bachelor's in Civil Engineering
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
The median Virginia civil engineering bachelor's program pays its graduates $74,285 in their first year, $4,703 more than the national median. George Mason reports the highest first-year pay ($75,822), and UVA the lowest median debt ($14,903).
All 5 programs, ranked
Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.
Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia civil engineering program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Virginia medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Quick picks
Highest first-year pay
- George Mason$75,822
- UVA$74,772
- Virginia Tech$74,285
- Old Dominion University$64,246
- Virginia Military Institute$61,547
Lowest median debt
- UVA$14,903
- George Mason$23,812
- Old Dominion University$25,000
- Virginia Tech$25,760
- Virginia Military Institute$26,000
Lowest debt for the pay
"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to civil engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Civil Engineers
$97,120Median pay in Virginia. 11,350 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 22,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$176,160Median pay in Virginia. 4,390 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Environmental Engineers
$104,940Median pay in Virginia. 1,010 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Petroleum Engineers
$144,910Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Common questions
George Mason in Fairfax reports the highest median first-year pay, $75,822. Its median federal debt is $23,812.
UVA reports the lowest median federal debt, $14,903, with first-year pay of $74,772.
The median across 5 Virginia civil engineering bachelor's programs is $74,285 in the first year after graduating and $84,707 five years after.
5 Virginia programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.
Related pages
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.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Virginia rankings when their main campus is in another state.
- Medians are across the civil engineering bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
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, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024