Which Virginia mechanical engineering program has the lowest debt?

Virginia Military Institute reports the lowest median federal debt, $19,971, with first-year pay of $47,837.

How much do mechanical engineering graduates earn in Virginia?

The median across 7 Virginia mechanical engineering bachelor's programs is $73,355 in the first year after graduating and $91,262 five years after.

How many mechanical engineering bachelor's programs are in Virginia?

7 Virginia programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 7 of them also report federal debt.

Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's) Programs in Virginia, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

7 programs report first-year pay
7 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Virginia mechanical engineering bachelor's program pays its graduates $73,355 in their first year, $2,630 more than the national median. Virginia Tech reports the highest first-year pay ($78,280), and Virginia Military Institute the lowest median debt ($19,971).

Median first-year pay$73,355National $70,725

Median pay after 5 years$91,262National $91,554

Median federal debt$24,250National $24,730

Debt-to-earnings34%National 35%

All 7 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.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Virginia TechBlacksburg · public	$78,280	$97,664	$23,000	29%
2	UVACharlottesville · public	$74,366	$91,262	$24,250	33%
3	George MasonFairfax · public	$73,570	Not reported	$25,000	34%
4	VCURichmond · public	$73,355	$87,500	$22,235	30%
5	Old Dominion UniversityNorfolk · public	$71,774	$91,945	$27,000	38%
6	Liberty UniversityLynchburg · private nonprofit	$65,794	Not reported	$27,000	41%
7	Virginia Military InstituteLexington · public	$47,837	$83,811	$19,971	42%

Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia mechanical 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 7 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Virginia Tech$78,280
UVA$74,366
George Mason$73,570
VCU$73,355
Old Dominion University$71,774

Lowest median debt

Virginia Military Institute$19,971
VCU$22,235
Virginia Tech$23,000
UVA$24,250
George Mason$25,000

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 mechanical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Mechanical Engineers

$104,180

Median pay in Virginia. 7,470 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $77,840Top 10%: $160,770

Cost Estimators

$80,530

Median pay in Virginia. 5,840 people work in this job in Virginia. 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%: $49,820Top 10%: $129,330

Architectural and Engineering Managers

$176,160

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $124,830Top 10%: $253,060

Aerospace Engineers

$143,210

Median pay in Virginia. 2,540 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $95,420Top 10%: $226,950

Common questions

Virginia Tech in Blacksburg reports the highest median first-year pay, $78,280. Its median federal debt is $23,000.

Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked302 programs by pay and debt

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 mechanical 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