College Rankings

Best Chemical Engineering Schools

The top 25 of 159 U.S. colleges offering an undergraduate Chemical Engineering degree, ranked by early-career earnings and return on investment — using each school's real, aid-adjusted net price rather than sticker tuition.

Is Chemical Engineering worth it?

Few undergraduate degrees offer a more reliable path to immediate wealth, provided you can survive the notoriously brutal coursework. The financial payoff is staggering, but the data reveals a stark geographic reality: the greatest value is overwhelmingly found at public universities situated near major industrial hubs, rather than at elite private institutions. If you are willing to tackle thermodynamics and fluid mechanics—and you don't mind working where the manufacturing plants and refineries are actually located—this degree pays for itself almost immediately.

Filter by state

#	School	State	Score	Median earnings	Net price / yr	10-yr net ROI
1	Lamar University	TX	77	$87,284	$9,366†	+$835K
2	University of Florida	FL	77	$87,164	$6,541†	+$845K
3	Rice University	TX	76	$87,830	$13,370	+$825K
4	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	GA	76	$85,847	$12,116†	+$810K
5	University of California-Berkeley	CA	76	$81,553	$13,481†	+$762K
6	Texas A&M University-College Station	TX	75	$86,176	$21,315†	+$776K
7	University of Houston	TX	75	$84,468	$14,276†	+$788K
8	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	MA	75	$80,139	$20,111	+$721K
9	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	75	$79,551	$13,138†	+$743K
10	Brigham Young University	UT	75	$77,565	$15,564	+$713K
11	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	75	$77,440	$14,355†	+$717K
12	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	75	$76,680	$12,548†	+$717K
13	The University of Texas at Austin	TX	74	$87,365	$19,857†	+$794K
14	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	74	$85,945	$17,354†	+$790K
15	University of Virginia-Main Campus	VA	74	$85,772	$21,565†	+$771K
16	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	74	$82,466	$17,447†	+$755K
17	University of Pennsylvania	PA	74	$81,721	$28,699	+$702K
18	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	NC	74	$81,492	$17,303†	+$746K
19	Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	74	$81,105	$14,600†	+$753K
20	Michigan Technological University	MI	74	$80,193	$14,182†	+$745K
21	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	74	$79,737	$16,109†	+$733K
22	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	74	$78,813	$14,967†	+$728K
23	North Carolina A & T State University	NC	74	$78,323	$10,846†	+$740K
24	Mississippi State University	MS	74	$78,183	$17,595†	+$711K
25	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	NM	74	$75,766	$8,889†	+$722K
26	Vanderbilt University	TN	74	$75,639	$15,846	+$693K
27	University of Maryland-College Park	MD	73	$81,777	$15,678†	+$755K
28	University of Toledo	OH	73	$79,750	$17,249†	+$729K
29	Kansas State University	KS	73	$77,492	$19,406†	+$697K
30	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	73	$77,455	$17,339†	+$705K
31	University of Massachusetts-Lowell	MA	73	$77,380	$17,163†	+$705K
32	University of Arkansas	AR	73	$75,102	$18,209†	+$678K
33	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	LA	73	$74,786	$19,151†	+$671K
34	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	73	$73,245	$16,778†	+$665K
35	Wayne State University	MI	73	$71,373	$12,766†	+$663K
36	Florida State University	FL	73	$70,797	$11,297†	+$663K
37	West Virginia University Institute of Technology	WV	73	$69,875	$9,337†	+$661K
38	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	CA	73	$69,009	$11,531†	+$644K
39	University of California-Davis	CA	73	$68,337	$14,741†	+$624K
40	Ohio University-Eastern Campus	OH	73	$67,322	$3,925†	+$658K
41	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus	OH	73	$67,322	$5,755†	+$650K
42	Ohio University-Southern Campus	OH	73	$67,322	$5,993†	+$649K
43	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus	OH	73	$67,322	$5,650†	+$651K
44	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus	OH	73	$67,322	$5,746†	+$650K
45	Cornell University	NY	72	$85,578	$28,690	+$741K
46	University of Notre Dame	IN	72	$83,377	$26,780	+$727K
47	Auburn University	AL	72	$82,217	$24,323†	+$725K
48	University of Delaware	DE	72	$80,564	$17,799†	+$734K
49	Michigan State University	MI	72	$79,023	$19,680†	+$712K
50	Missouri University of Science and Technology	MO	72	$78,369	$16,298†	+$718K
51	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	OK	72	$77,751	$15,300†	+$716K
52	Texas Tech University	TX	72	$77,586	$19,070†	+$700K
53	Iowa State University	IA	72	$76,184	$18,589†	+$687K
54	University of Utah	UT	72	$73,841	$16,200†	+$674K
55	University of Arizona	AZ	72	$73,479	$16,674†	+$668K
56	Stony Brook University	NY	72	$72,868	$18,784†	+$654K
57	University of Akron Main Campus	OH	72	$71,873	$13,946†	+$663K
58	University of South Florida	FL	72	$70,659	$9,812†	+$667K
59	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus	CT	72	$68,025	$10,875†	+$637K
60	University of Connecticut-Avery Point	CT	72	$68,025	$13,807†	+$625K
61	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	WA	72	$67,624	$14,091†	+$620K
62	University of Louisiana at Lafayette	LA	72	$63,886	$13,530†	+$585K
63	Northwestern University	IL	71	$80,709	$29,167	+$690K
64	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	71	$79,603	$17,747†	+$725K
65	University of Maine	ME	71	$78,838	$17,510†	+$718K
66	University of Idaho	ID	71	$75,915	$14,831†	+$700K
67	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown	PA	71	$73,072	$18,202†	+$658K
68	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology	SD	71	$72,785	$20,183†	+$647K
69	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus	OR	71	$71,618	$18,048†	+$644K
70	University of Louisville	KY	71	$70,675	$17,988†	+$635K
71	West Virginia University	WV	71	$69,875	$15,634†	+$636K
72	Washington State University	WA	71	$69,820	$14,971†	+$638K
73	University of California-Riverside	CA	71	$68,245	$14,304†	+$625K
74	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus	CT	71	$68,025	$16,403†	+$615K
75	University of Maryland-Baltimore County	MD	71	$66,023	$16,467†	+$594K
76	University of California-San Diego	CA	71	$59,508	$12,470†	+$545K
77	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA	70	$82,382	$24,953†	+$724K
78	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	70	$76,302	$18,976†	+$687K
79	Clemson University	SC	70	$75,951	$22,253†	+$670K
80	University of South Carolina-Columbia	SC	70	$75,680	$22,811†	+$666K
81	University of North Dakota	ND	70	$73,112	$18,551†	+$657K
82	Oregon State University	OR	70	$71,618	$19,604†	+$638K
83	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	70	$70,359	$25,346†	+$602K
84	Youngstown State University	OH	70	$69,609	$12,767†	+$645K
85	Cleveland State University	OH	70	$69,043	$14,764†	+$631K
86	University of Connecticut-Stamford	CT	70	$68,025	$16,798†	+$613K
87	CUNY City College	NY	70	$67,450	$3,776†	+$659K
88	New Jersey Institute of Technology	NJ	70	$66,617	$16,504†	+$600K
89	Prairie View A & M University	TX	70	$58,627	$13,570†	+$532K
90	University of Illinois Chicago	IL	70	$58,377	$10,974†	+$540K
91	University of California-Irvine	CA	70	$57,540	$14,251†	+$518K
92	Virginia Commonwealth University	VA	69	$79,721	$23,433†	+$703K
93	University of Rhode Island	RI	69	$75,406	$21,440†	+$668K
94	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	MA	69	$72,514	$22,383†	+$636K
95	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus	NH	69	$71,599	$23,805†	+$621K
96	University of South Alabama	AL	69	$71,116	$17,648†	+$641K
97	University of Missouri-Columbia	MO	69	$69,950	$20,268†	+$618K
98	The University of Alabama	AL	69	$69,809	$22,420†	+$608K
99	Western Michigan University	MI	69	$68,632	$15,273†	+$625K
100	University of Minnesota-Duluth	MN	69	$67,152	$18,743†	+$597K
101	Illinois Institute of Technology	IL	69	$64,526	$18,425	+$572K
102	University of Nevada-Reno	NV	69	$64,039	$15,927†	+$577K
103	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	69	$62,907	$15,489†	+$567K
104	Tennessee Technological University	TN	69	$60,300	$14,246†	+$546K
105	The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga	TN	69	$57,952	$14,265†	+$522K
106	Texas A&M University-Kingsville	TX	69	$55,622	$12,090†	+$508K
107	Columbia University in the City of New York	NY	69	$55,154	$21,590	+$465K
108	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	68	$82,372	$25,648†	+$721K
109	Northeastern University	MA	68	$81,880	$30,915	+$695K
110	University of Dayton	OH	68	$79,865	$29,533	+$681K
111	University of Iowa	IA	68	$75,340	$22,531†	+$663K
112	Widener University	PA	68	$71,160	$25,759	+$609K
113	Colorado State University-Fort Collins	CO	68	$62,468	$21,279†	+$540K
114	Johns Hopkins University	MD	68	$51,267	$18,809	+$437K
115	Miami University-Oxford	OH	67	$77,542	$28,384†	+$662K
116	Manhattan University	NY	67	$73,333	$27,256	+$624K
117	University of Rochester	NY	67	$71,028	$29,278	+$593K
118	University at Buffalo	NY	67	$67,873	$20,995†	+$595K
119	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	67	$67,777	$24,406†	+$580K
120	University of Kansas	KS	67	$63,870	$18,059†	+$566K
121	University of Tulsa	OK	67	$47,705	$15,000	+$417K
122	Lehigh University	PA	66	$82,435	$36,931	+$677K
123	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	66	$82,218	$32,875†	+$691K
124	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	NY	66	$78,263	$36,228	+$638K
125	Trine University	IN	66	$72,875	$25,355	+$627K
126	University of Connecticut	CT	66	$68,025	$25,097†	+$580K
127	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	66	$67,322	$21,637†	+$587K
128	University of Kentucky	KY	66	$65,389	$18,851†	+$578K
129	Bucknell University	PA	65	$80,653	$40,766	+$643K
130	Clarkson University	NY	65	$75,887	$30,305	+$638K
131	Tufts University	MA	65	$75,367	$39,998	+$594K
132	Colorado School of Mines	CO	65	$68,318	$28,690†	+$568K
133	University of Southern California	CA	65	$68,234	$32,740	+$551K
134	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	IN	64	$82,394	$42,513	+$654K
135	Lafayette College	PA	64	$79,602	$34,433	+$658K
136	Drexel University	PA	64	$77,528	$38,509	+$621K
137	Rochester Institute of Technology	NY	64	$73,984	$34,906	+$600K
138	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	PA	64	$73,072	$30,434†	+$609K
139	University of Wyoming	WY	64	$46,398	$13,599†	+$410K
140	California State University-Long Beach	CA	64	$45,164	$10,440†	+$410K
141	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point	WI	63	$84,047	$14,559†	+$782K
142	Stevens Institute of Technology	NJ	63	$79,339	$41,346	+$628K
143	Louisiana Tech University	LA	63	$79,157	$11,864†	+$744K
144	Montana State University	MT	63	$62,206	$22,499†	+$532K
145	Case Western Reserve University	OH	62	$83,706	$41,190	+$672K
146	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	MA	62	$78,767	$43,071	+$615K
147	University of Mississippi	MS	62	$76,685	$13,314†	+$714K
148	Villanova University	PA	61	$72,379	$43,756	+$549K
149	New York University	NY	61	$60,392	$37,050	+$456K
150	Florida Institute of Technology	FL	61	$53,145	$35,639	+$389K
151	University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez	PR	61	$47,701	$17,936†	+$405K
152	Milwaukee School of Engineering	WI	59	$55,333	$22,453	+$464K
153	New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology	NM	58	$57,215	$9,873†	+$533K
154	Washington University in St Louis	MO	54	$69,801	$21,786	+$611K
155	Tuskegee University	AL	54	$51,473	$35,013	+$375K
156	University of Alabama in Huntsville	AL	52	$60,528	$18,796†	+$530K
157	Rowan University	NJ	50	$61,045	$22,408†	+$521K
158	Kettering University	MI	49	$71,411	$34,660	+$575K
159	Syracuse University	NY	48	$72,864	$38,793	+$573K

Top 10 programs by 10-year net ROI

How to read this: Median earnings = typical pay one year after graduation. Net price = average annual cost after grant aid, incl. living costs — not sticker tuition. 10-yr net ROI = ten years of earnings minus four years of net price. Score = the CollegeRanked Score (0–100) that sets the order — it blends ROI with longer-run earnings, job demand and automation resilience, so a school can outrank one with a slightly higher 10-yr ROI. † = public university — net price shown is the in-state cost; out-of-state students pay more. See the full methodology.

Why these schools rank where they do

Lamar University claims the #1 spot for a very specific, geographic reason: it is located in Beaumont, Texas, the absolute epicenter of the Gulf Coast petrochemical industry. Lamar might not be a global household name, but to ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Valero, it is a premier talent pipeline. Lamar students routinely co-op at the massive refineries and chemical plants right in their backyard, stepping into highly lucrative process engineering roles the moment they graduate.

This industry-proximity effect dominates the entire board. The University of Houston and Texas A&M easily out-yield prestigious names by feeding massive cohorts straight into the Houston energy sector. In fact, MIT sits down at #8—not because its education is lacking, but because its high net price and tendency to funnel graduates into research, academia, or specialized consulting can't match the sheer, debt-free earning power of a Texas public school grad working upstream in oil and gas. Further down, North Carolina A&T's appearance at #23 highlights its status as a powerhouse HBCU for STEM; its engineering career fair is a mandatory stop for Fortune 500 manufacturing and tech giants, making it an incredible, low-cost launchpad for corporate engineering careers.

What is Chemical Engineering?

Chemical engineering is the science of scale. While chemists invent new molecules in a beaker, chemical engineers figure out how to safely and profitably manufacture thousands of gallons of those molecules—whether that means refining petroleum into jet fuel, scaling up life-saving vaccines, or designing the processes that create next-generation plastics and semiconductors.

Frequently asked questions

Is chemical engineering the same as chemistry?

Not at all. Chemistry is a fundamental science focused on discovering how substances interact on a molecular level. Chemical engineering is an applied discipline heavily reliant on physics, calculus, and thermodynamics to design the industrial facilities that mass-produce those substances. If you love lab work, study chemistry; if you love math, problem-solving, and large-scale systems, study chemical engineering.

Do I have to work in oil and gas?

While the petrochemical and energy sectors are traditional, high-paying mainstays for chemical engineers, they are far from the only options. The semiconductor industry relies heavily on chemical engineers to manufacture microchips, the pharmaceutical industry needs them to scale up drug production, and the food and beverage sector uses them to design everything from pasteurization processes to new flavor extractions.

Does the prestige of my undergraduate engineering program matter?

For chemical engineering, prestige takes a backseat to ABET accreditation and co-op experience. Employers are highly pragmatic; they want graduates who have already spent time in a plant environment wearing a hard hat and troubleshooting real-world process flows. As this ranking shows, a regional public university with deep ties to local industry will almost always provide a better financial return than a famous private university with a purely theoretical focus.