Salary Increases Outpace Inflation for Most MBAs

Are post-MBA salaries living up to the degree’s promise? In most cases, the answer is yes. 

Using their rankings data, Bloomberg Businessweek analyzed MBA starting salaries from 2018 to 2022 compared to the inflation rate during the same period (17.6 percent). And they found growth that outpaced inflation in seven industries, including two of the most prominent for newly minted MBAs. These include Consulting (salary increased by 19.5 percent between 2018 and 2022), Technology (+18.8 percent), Defense and Aerospace (+20.9 percent), Government/Politics/Lobbying (+19.4 percent), Telecommunications (+27.3 percent), Education (+43.8 percent) and Construction (+20.8 percent). 

The median salary growth for MBA alumni also outpaced inflation. The reported median earnings for MBAs six years post-graduation grew 28.1 percent between 2018 and 2022. The growth rate compares favorably to both the inflation rate (17.6 percent), and the national median earnings for all full-time workers (18.7 percent). 

Poets & Quants created a similar analysis using their data to determine how the growth in median earnings between 2018 and 2022 compared to the inflation rate amongst top-ranked MBA programs. They found that at the top 27-ranked schools, the growth in starting base salary between 2018 and 2022 averaged 24 percent, well above the inflation rate, and at the top seven schools it averaged 26.7 percent. NYU Stern garnered the highest growth rate (36 percent), followed by Columbia, Chicago Booth, and Dartmouth Tuck. In fact, just three of the top-ranked schools posted median starting salary growth rates below the inflation rate: UCLA Anderson (16.8 percent), UNC Kenan-Flagler (8.3 percent), and Washington University in St. Louis (9.1 percent). 

MBA Class of 2022 Graduates Offered Record-Setting Salaries

Earlier this season we reported that preliminary MBA employment profiles showed record-breaking salaries for the class of 2022. Additional employment data has only validated this trend. Almost all of the U.S. News top 10 ranked programs have reported median salary increases of ten percent or more compared to last year. Below, we’ve aggregated data on the median salaries and compensation for these programs. 

University of Chicago (Booth): The median salary increased 12.9 percent from 2021 ($155,000) to 2022 ($175,000), while median total compensation increased by more than 10 percent to $196,600. Graduates split fairly evenly into consulting (36 percent) and financial services (35 percent), followed by technology (15 percent). 

University of Pennsylvania (Wharton): The median salary increased 12.9 percent from 2021 ($155,000) to 2022 ($175,000). Over one-third of graduates went into financial services (39 percent), followed by consulting (24 percent) and technology (17 percent). 

Northwestern University (Kellogg): The median salary increased 10 percent from 2021 ($150,000) to 2022 ($165,000), while median total compensation increased by 8.7 percent to $191,100. Over one-third of graduates entered into consulting (40 percent), followed by technology (21 percent), and financial services (16 percent). 

Harvard University: The median salary increased 16 percent from 2021 ($150,500) to 2022 ($175,000), while median total compensation increased 17.5 percent to $223,100. Over one-third of graduates went into financial services (34 percent), followed by consulting (26 percent) and venture capital/private equity (22 percent). 

MIT (Sloan): The median salary increased 10 percent from 2021 ($150,000) to 2022 ($165,000), while median total compensation increased by 4.7 percent to $204,700. Almost one-third graduates went into consulting (31 percent), followed by an even split between financial services (26 percent) and technology (26 percent). 

Yale University SOM: The median salary increased 14 percent from 2021 ($140,400) to 2022 ($160,110), while median total compensation increased by 12.5 percent to $185,940. Nearly half of graduates entered into careers in consulting (46 percent), followed by financial services (22 percent) and CPG/retail (11 percent). 

Columbia University: The median salary increased 16.7 percent from 2021 ($150,000) to 2022 ($175,000), while median total compensation increased by 14 percent to $203,252. Over one-third of graduates went into finance (37 percent) and consulting (34 percent), followed by media/tech (16 percent). 

UC Berkeley (Haas): The median salary increased 4 percent from 2021 ($149,000) to 2022 ($155,000), while median total compensation increased by 3.7 percent to $179,696. About one-third of graduates entered into careers in technology (33 percent), followed by consulting (28 percent) and financial services (14 percent). 

University of Michigan (Ross): The median salary increased 14.6 percent from 2021 ($144,000) to 2022 ($165,000), while median total compensation increased by about 12 percent to $192,270. Over one-third of graduates entered into consulting (42 percent), followed by technology (17 percent) and financial services (15 percent).

Note: At time of publishing, Stanford GSB’s class of 2022 employment profile was not available.

Related: 

Downtown in MBA Program Applicant Volume Continues

Preliminary Reports Show Significant Increases for MBA Class of 2022 Starting Salaries

Preliminary Reports Show Significant Increases for MBA Class of 2022 Starting Salaries

According to Fortune Education, preliminary MBA employment outcome reports for the class of 2022 show that MBA graduates’ salaries “are surging.”

New York University (Stern) announced earlier this week that median base salaries increased to $170,000, up $15,000 from last year. Average total compensation for 2022 graduates, including signing bonuses (median $35,000), averaged $196,143. This is an 8 percent uptick from 2021. Similarly, University of Virginia (Darden) reported last month that 2022 graduates obtained a record-breaking median base salary of $175,000, an increase of 21 percent from 2021. And, at Vanderbilt University, Owen graduates garnered a median base salary of $135,000, an all-time high, coupled with a median signing bonus of $30,000, which equated to a 12 percent increase from 2021.

Representatives from MBA Career Management offices noted that 2022 graduates reaped the benefits of a tight and competitive labor market. “The fiercest competition in the labor market is for ‘top talent,’ and consulting firms are competing for this top talent not just between themselves, but also more broadly versus Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and traditional corporate America,” said Namaan Mian, Chief Operating Officer of Management Consulted, when interviewed previously by Fortune Education.