US B-Schools Dominate Best-paid MBA Graduates Ranking

MIT Sloan School of Management ranks number 1 for the Best-paid MBA graduates drawing a total compensation of $286,000 in a list of 20 dominated by B-schools in the United States.

According to the latest survey by Emolument.com, a crowd-sourced site for benchmarking salaries, all the top 10 schools in a list of 20 institutions worldwide, are in the US.

In the second spot is Harvard Business School with $255,000 as total compensation that includes median pay and bonus. Third-ranked is the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business where the graduates drew $250,000 total compensation.

University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School is 4^th with a total compensation of $248,000, fifth Columbia Business School ($ 239,000), 6^th NYU Stern School of Business ($213,000), 7^th Northwestern University’s Kellogg ($209,000), 8^th Cornell Johnson School of Business ($189,000), 9^th Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business ($189,000) and University of Michigan’s Ross School ($187,000).

The other schools are 13^th ranked St. Gallen of Switzerland ($181,000), 15^th ranked IESE, Spain ($179,000), 19^th ranked Bocconi SDA, Italy ($159,000) and 20^th ranked Rotman School of Business, Toronto ($155,000).

The 11^th rank is held by UCLA Anderson ($185,000). Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business ($171,000) completes the US representation in the rankings.

European schools get a look in from the 12^th rank, captured by INSEAD graduates who netted a gross salary of $185,000. The UK has three schools on the list. Cambridge University’s Judge School of Business is rank 14 with graduates getting a gross salary of $180,000. London Business School is 16^th rank with gross pay of $178,000 and Oxford Said at 18^th rank with a gross salary of $168,000.

The other schools are 13^th ranked St. Gallen of Switzerland ($181,000), 15^th ranked IESE, Spain ($179,000), 19^th ranked Bocconi SDA, Italy ($159,000) and 20^th ranked Rotman School of Business, Toronto ($155,000).

It’s little surprise that the best-paid MBA graduates are from American universities. What is unexpected is just how much U.S. schools dominate the rankings.

Emolument.com had analysed pay data from 10,900 professionals holding the MBA degree. Apart from their academic excellence and reputation, US business schools’ alumni also enjoy the pay premium that comes with working in the USA, where salaries and bonuses are traditionally higher than in Europe, particularly in the very competitive tech and financial services industries.

“While MBA represents a substantial cost for professionals, their impact on one’s earning potential and career is undeniable. All the data shown in these rankings stands way above what the average professional with an undergraduate degree can reasonably expect to earn during his career,” says Thomas Drewry, Co-founder at Emolument.

“With an MBA also comes the less measurable but real benefit of being part of an exclusive network of high-achieving professionals, which comes in handy when looking for a top job or find the perfect co-founder for an ambitious start-up,” he adds.