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Cybersecurity is a quickly growing field in an increasingly online world often accompanied by . And with companies prioritizing data protection, it’s no surprise that cybersecurity professionals are well-compensated with a positive job outlook. 

In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics () predicts that job growth for information security analysts — one of many professions in the cybersecurity field — will be 32% over the next eight years, which is more than ten times the national average for all job growth. The median pay for this role in 2023 was $120,360 per year, according to BLS data. 

There are many career paths for those with cybersecurity degrees as well, depending on if you want to pursue an associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degree. While earnings and job outlook vary by job title, many cybersecurity roles boast similarly high salaries and rapid job growth. 

If you’re interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity, choosing the right institution is an important first step. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics (), we identified colleges in the U.S. producing the highest-earning alumni with cybersecurity degrees at both the bachelor’s and master’s level. Several institutions produced alumni with above-average earnings one year as well as four years after graduation.

Cybersecurity Earnings by Degree Level

In order to identify colleges with high-earning cybersecurity alumni, we first established a baseline for median cybersecurity earnings. We looked at median earnings for 2019 and 2020 graduates, who were employed and not enrolled in a college program both one year and four years after graduation, to reflect salaries in various career stages:

As expected, master’s degree-holders earned higher median salaries than those with bachelor’s degrees. Additionally, salaries grew from one year to four years post-graduation in accordance with anticipated career progression. 

Salary data was based on 2019 and 2020 graduates in cybersecurity-related degrees. We only considered colleges with at least 15 students who completed a degree in security science and technology, according to the most recent NCES data. Please note, our report does not adjust for factors, such as geographic location, that might account for higher salaries.

Colleges With Above-Average Cybersecurity Earnings

Of 83 colleges with at least 15 students who completed a degree in security science and technology, we identified 26 schools with above-average earnings for bachelor’s degree holders and 13 with above-average earnings for master’s degree holders — including data from one year after graduation as well as four years after graduation. 

Six schools produced high earners at both degree levels:

Highest Cybersecurity Earners at the Bachelor's Level

To better inform college choices based on preferred degree level, we identified the top earning institutions based on alumni salaries one and four years after graduation. The following five schools offered the highest median earnings for bachelor’s degree holders a year after graduation.

Bachelor's Cybersecurity Median Earnings After 1 Year

Notably, two of the top five colleges with above-average bachelor’s degree earnings a year after graduation were located in Florida.

Bachelor's Cybersecurity Median Earnings After 4 Years

While three of the five colleges with above-average earnings for bachelor’s degree holders four years after graduation were public schools, private institutions Champlain College and Robert Morris University produced the highest earners.

Highest Cybersecurity Earners at the Master's Level

For master’s-degree holders, these five colleges showed the highest median earnings in the year after graduation.

Master's Cybersecurity Median Earnings After 1 Year

Champlain College is a standout school, as it produced above-average earners for both bachelor’s and master’s degree holders at various career stages, and it consistently tops the list in median earnings.

Master's Cybersecurity Median Earnings after 4 Years

One notable trend of the schools on this list is the prevalence of colleges near Washington D.C., Virginia, and Maryland that have a higher-than-average number of , likely due to the prevalence of government jobs in the D.C. metro area. 

Discussing the Data

Public Schools Producing High Earners In Cybersecurity

Public schools made up the majority of top earners, especially later in alumni careers. Four years after graduation, 16 of the top 25 schools in this category were public institutions, including the University of Maryland Global Campus, which was a top earner in all the groups we analyzed. 

This is good news for prospective cybersecurity professionals seeking affordable education. According to the , tuition from a four-year private institution is nearly 300% higher than in-state tuition at a four-year public college or university. Even if you attend a public school as an out-of-state student, tuition costs are about 25% lower. 

Online Education a Viable Path for Cybersecurity Professionals

UUÖ±²¥ education also seems to be a viable path for those pursuing a successful career in cybersecurity. Several online schools made the list of top earners, including Capella University, Grand Canyon University, and National University. Once again, the University of Maryland Global Campus made the list, offering online education options and producing top earners at both the master’s and bachelor’s levels at multiple career stages. 

Attending college online can save students money and add flexibility to your education. The fact that you can succeed in a cybersecurity career with a degree from either an online or on-campus program is good news for those seeking these benefits.

Cybersecurity Is a Fast-Growing Field

Choosing to pursue a career in cybersecurity could be a prudent choice for students who enjoy studying technology and are seeking a higher-than-average earning potential. As a newer discipline, but one with many new job opportunities popping up every day, job security is higher than in many other industries. 

The BLS predicts that cybersecurity jobs will by 2032, compared to a 3% national average job growth for all occupations. This translates to a need for more than 16,000 cybersecurity workers every year. Based on data from the NCES, only about 3,000 students graduated with a degree in cybersecurity and were currently working and not enrolled in a college program one year after graduation. While this doesn’t account for cybersecurity professionals who hold an unrelated degree, it is a good indicator that competition in the field is relatively low compared to job availability. 

This growth is based on information security analyst roles, which typically require at least a bachelor’s degree to qualify for. While you may be able to find another job in cybersecurity with an associate degree or certification, your earning potential could be lower. Some professions in the field also require a cybersecurity master’s degree, and those with postsecondary education report higher median salaries. 

Methodology

To identify the colleges with the highest-earning cybersecurity alumni, we compared schools that had earning data available from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) for students working and not enrolled in any college program both one year after graduation and four years after graduation. We chose to look at both timelines to more accurately estimate alumni earnings at multiple stages in their careers. We also limited the pool to only include schools with at least 15 students who completed a degree in security science and technology, according to the most recent data. 

Earnings data for graduates in the two separate cohorts was sourced from the U.S. Treasury Data, as measured in 2019 and 2020, with salaries adjusted for inflation to 2021 dollars.