MBA salary statistics vary widely by school, industry, location, and the point at which compensation is measured. Recent GMAC school employment reports show median starting salaries commonly near $175,000 to $190,000 at highly ranked programs, while GMAC’s broader 2023 comparison placed the average across all U.S. schools at $128,000.
MBA salary statistics at a glance
- U.S. averages and career stage
- Stanford MBA salary and outcomes
- Wharton MBA salary and outcomes
- Darden and Kellogg compensation
- Columbia, NYU Stern, and MIT Sloan
- Industry, bonus, and location comparisons
U.S. averages and career stage
The broadest figure in the supplied GMAC comparison is an average MBA salary of $128,000 across all U.S. schools in 2023. The same GMAC source reported an average of $210,000 for the 10 highest-paying U.S. business schools and $62,000 for the 10 lowest-paying schools. These are averages, not medians, and they describe different school groups from the individual employment reports below.
GMAC’s 2023 U.S. comparison also reported average salaries by MBA field. Technology graduates averaged $111,000, finance graduates averaged $106,000, consulting graduates averaged $100,000, and marketing graduates averaged $99,000. The source labels these as averages, so they should not be treated as starting-salary medians for every graduate.
Career stage changes the comparison. GMAC reported that Harvard MBA graduates could expect an average salary of $246,000 three years after graduation, compared with $250,000 for Stanford graduates and $245,000 for Wharton graduates. Those three-year figures are forecasts or expectations reported by GMAC, rather than the same-year starting medians in school employment reports.
| Comparison | Reported figure | Measurement |
|---|---|---|
| All U.S. MBA schools | $128,000 | Average salary, 2023 |
| 10 highest-paying U.S. schools | $210,000 | Average salary |
| 10 lowest-paying U.S. schools | $62,000 | Average salary |
| Harvard | $246,000 | Expected average, three years after graduation |
| Stanford | $250,000 | Expected average, three years after graduation |
| Wharton | $245,000 | Expected average, three years after graduation |
Source: GMAC, “What Is The Average MBA Salary In The USA?”.
Stanford MBA salary and outcomes
Stanford’s class of 2024 had an 89% job-offer rate within three months of graduation, according to the GMAC Stanford MBA Jobs & Salary Review. The class recorded a median base salary of $185,500. Its median sign-on bonus was $30,000, its median expected performance bonus was $50,000, and total median compensation was $265,000.
The employment mix was concentrated in several sectors. Finance accounted for 37% of the class, technology for 22%, and consulting for 14%. Another 23% launched ventures after graduating. These categories describe destinations or activities reported for the class; they are not all components of a single salary calculation.
School-supported recruiting was important: 54% of Stanford graduates landed jobs through school-facilitated activities. Geographically, 91% stayed in the United States after graduation. Within the U.S. distribution, 45% were located in the West and 31% in the Northeast.
Stanford’s industry medians also show why a single MBA salary figure can hide meaningful differences. Graduates entering finance earned a median base salary of $200,000. The consulting median was $190,000, technology was $185,000, energy was $165,000, and healthcare was $160,000. These are base salaries, while the $265,000 total compensation figure includes more than base pay.
GMAC’s broader three-year comparison gave Stanford graduates an expected average salary of $250,000. In that comparison, 49% received signing bonuses, with an average signing bonus of $42,249. A reported 68% received expected performance bonuses, whose average was $99,347. The three-year and class-of-2024 measures use different time frames and should be read separately.
Source: GMAC Stanford MBA Jobs & Salary Review.
Wharton MBA salary and outcomes
Wharton’s class of 2024 included 634 job seekers. GMAC reported that 93.1% received job offers within three months and 88.2% reported job acceptances. The overall median salary was $175,000.
Financial services attracted about 37% of the class, consulting almost 25%, technology 14.1%, and healthcare about 5%. Almost 3% entered social impact, up from 1.4% in the prior class. Wharton graduates were distributed across several U.S. regions: 47% landed in the Northeast, 21.5% on the U.S. West Coast, and almost 12% in the Mid-Atlantic. Asia accounted for 3.9%, while Wharton MBAs working in Europe earned a median salary of roughly $119,000.
Pay varied by industry. Legal and professional services had the highest reported median at $225,000. Consulting graduates earned $190,000, financial-services graduates $175,000, technology graduates $162,000, fintech graduates almost $157,500, and media, entertainment, and sports graduates $140,000.
GMAC also reported an average graduate salary of $245,772 after three years. That figure is a later-career average, not the $175,000 class-of-2024 starting median. A separate GMAC comparison said Wharton graduates could expect an average salary of $245,000 three years after graduation. For Wharton’s class of 2023, 75% sought new jobs after graduation, 37.3% entered financial services, and 28.8% entered consulting. The same comparison reported average pre-bonus pay of $190,000 for consulting graduates and a $215,000 base salary for legal and professional services.
Source: GMAC Wharton MBA Jobs & Salary Review.
Darden and Kellogg compensation
Darden’s 2024 results covered 326 MBA graduates seeking full-time employment. Ninety percent accepted a job offer within three months, and 83% accepted before graduation. Consulting accounted for 43% of graduates and financial services for 27%.
Career support was a major route to employment. Seventy-nine percent secured jobs through school-facilitated career activities, 60% converted a Darden-secured internship into a job offer, and 8% used the school’s careers-system job postings to get offers. Darden’s alumni network totaled 19,000 people in more than 90 countries.
Darden’s average median salary was $175,000 in 2024. Average compensation rose to $205,000 including the average signing bonus. The highest median base salary was $215,000 in the “other” industry category. Consulting graduates earned a median base salary of $190,000, while financial-services graduates earned $175,000. Reported average salaries were $170,600 in the Northeast and $166,391 in the West. Ninety-six percent of Darden graduates found employment in the United States.
Kellogg reported that 90% of its class of 2024 secured job offers within three months, including 89% of international students. Consulting accounted for 35%, technology 20%, financial services 19%, healthcare 9%, consumer packaged goods 7%, retail 3%, media and entertainment 2%, and manufacturing 2%. Twelve graduates started new businesses, including search funds.
Kellogg graduates’ average base salary on graduation was $170,000, while the reported low-end base salary was $70,000. Consulting had a $190,000 median base salary and a range from $70,000 to $230,000. Finance had a $173,000 median, and technology was above $157,000. The median signing bonus across industries was $30,000; technology’s median signing bonus was $42,150.
After graduation, 94% of Kellogg graduates stayed in the United States. Thirty-six percent stayed in the Midwest, 27% moved to the West, 21% to the East, and 9% to the South.
Sources: GMAC Darden School of Business MBA Jobs & Salary Review and GMAC Kellogg MBA Jobs & Salary Review.
Columbia, NYU Stern, and MIT Sloan
Columbia’s 2024 MBA graduates had an 89% job-offer rate within three months of graduation and a median graduate salary of $175,000. The highest signing bonus reached $151,000. About two-thirds of Columbia MBAs worked in consulting or financial services, and McKinsey and BCG hired 79 Columbia graduates between them.
NYU Stern’s 2025 MBA graduates had an 86% job-acceptance rate within three months. Finance accounted for 36.6%, consulting for 32.8%, investment banking for 28%, and technology for 14.2%. The Big Three consulting firms hired 30 Stern MBAs in 2025.
Stern’s median base salary was $175,000 in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Average compensation reached $210,000 in 2025. The 2025 median consulting salary was $175,000, the financial-services median remained $175,000, and the technology salary increased to $152,500. The median weekly internship salary was $2,885.
MIT Sloan’s class of 2024 had 90% full-time offers within three months and a median base salary of $170,000. The offer rate and salary are reported for the class of 2024 and are not directly interchangeable with Stern’s 2025 outcomes.
Sources: GMAC Columbia Business School MBA Jobs & Salary Review, GMAC NYU Stern MBA Jobs & Salary Review, and GMAC MIT MBA Class Profile | Breakdown.
Industry, bonus, and location comparisons
Across the school reports, consulting and finance frequently appear among the highest-paying large employment categories, but the exact result depends on the school and whether the figure is a median base salary, an average, or total compensation. Stanford reported a $200,000 finance median and $190,000 consulting median. Darden reported $175,000 for financial services and $190,000 for consulting. Kellogg reported $173,000 for finance and $190,000 for consulting. Wharton reported $175,000 for financial services and $190,000 for consulting.
Technology pay also differs by school: Stanford reported a $185,000 median base salary, Wharton $162,000, Kellogg more than $157,000, and Stern $152,500 in 2025. These figures are school-specific and should not be combined into a single industry average.
Bonuses are separate from base salary. Stanford’s class of 2024 had a $30,000 median sign-on bonus and $50,000 median expected performance bonus. Kellogg’s all-industry signing-bonus median was $30,000, while its technology median was $42,150. In the broader three-year comparison, Harvard’s average signing bonus was $30,000 and its average performance bonus was $40,000; Stanford’s corresponding averages were $42,249 and $99,347. Harvard reported that 57% received signing bonuses and 70% received performance bonuses, compared with Stanford’s 49% and 68%.
Location matters as well. Stanford reported 91% of graduates staying in the United States, Darden reported 96%, and Kellogg reported 94%. Stanford’s U.S. destinations were 45% West and 31% Northeast; Wharton’s were 47% Northeast and 21.5% West Coast; Kellogg’s were 36% Midwest, 27% West, 21% East, and 9% South. Darden’s reported average salary was $170,600 in the Northeast and $166,391 in the West, while Wharton’s Europe-based graduates had a median of roughly $119,000.
Source labels: GMAC Stanford MBA Jobs & Salary Review, GMAC Wharton MBA Jobs & Salary Review, GMAC Darden School of Business MBA Jobs & Salary Review, GMAC Kellogg MBA Jobs & Salary Review, and GMAC What Is The Average MBA Salary In The USA?.