30 May 2026
UK universities with the highest graduate earnings in 2026
How much do graduates actually earn? We ranked 151 UK universities by median salary at one, three and five years after graduation, using official tax-linked data. The gap between the highest and lowest earners is over £36,000 a year.
Why graduate earnings matter for international students
When a student pays £15,000 to £40,000 per year in international tuition fees, the financial return on that investment is not an abstract question. Unlike domestic students, international students cannot access UK student loans. The cost is paid upfront, often by families. The decision needs to make financial sense.
According to the Etio International Student Barometer 2026, future career impact has been the number one decision factor for international students across 22 answer options for five consecutive years, from 2019 to 2025. Career readiness perception among international students rose from 66% to 88% over the same period. Students are choosing universities based on what happens after graduation, not just during it.
The Graduate Route visa gives international graduates two years of post-study work in the UK (three years for doctoral graduates). That makes UK graduate earnings directly relevant. A student who earns £30,000 in their first year after graduation is in a different financial position from one earning £19,000, and the data below shows which universities produce which outcome.
What the data actually measures
The earnings figures in this article come from the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset. LEO links university graduation records to HMRC tax records, measuring what graduates actually earn one, three and five years after completing their degree. This is not survey data and it is not self-reported. It is drawn from actual tax returns.
The Office for Students uses graduate outcomes as a quantitative measure to assess institutional quality. A university where graduates consistently earn below the sector median has a question to answer about the value of its teaching and the strength of its employer connections.
How to read the earnings figures
All figures are median annual earnings for UK-domiciled graduates in sustained employment. "1yr" means one year after graduation, "3yr" means three years, and "5yr" means five years. The five-year figure is the most reliable indicator of long-term career value because it captures graduates who have moved past entry-level roles.
LEO data covers UK-domiciled graduates. International graduate earnings may differ, but the relative position of institutions is a strong signal of employer reputation and course quality.
The graduate salary premium is smaller than you think
The graduate salary premium over non-graduate earnings has stayed relatively flat at around £10,000 per year. That premium is real, but it is not guaranteed. It depends heavily on which university a student attends and which subject they study.
A Treasury Committee survey of 52,000 student loan holders found that 51% said they would not take the loan again knowing what they know now. Only 54% said their course helped them get their current job. For international students paying full fees without loan protection, the stakes are higher. Choosing a university with strong graduate earnings is one of the most important financial decisions a student and their family will make.
Top 20 universities by graduate earnings
These institutions produce the highest-earning graduates five years after graduation.
| # | University | City | 1yr | 3yr | 5yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London School of Economics | London | £38,300 | £47,800 | £57,700 |
| 2 | Imperial College London | London | £39,100 | £44,200 | £54,000 |
| 3 | Oxford University | Oxford | £33,900 | £41,400 | £50,000 |
| 4 | University of Cambridge | Cambridge | £35,800 | £42,700 | £49,800 |
| 5 | University of Bath | Bath | £31,800 | £38,300 | £47,400 |
| 6 | UCL | London | £32,800 | £39,400 | £46,400 |
| 7 | University of Warwick | Coventry | £31,800 | £36,100 | £44,500 |
| 8 | Durham University | Durham | £28,500 | £35,600 | £43,800 |
| 9 | King's College London | London | £33,200 | £36,900 | £43,400 |
| 10 | University of Bristol | Bristol | £28,800 | £35,000 | £43,100 |
| 11 | Escape Studios | London | £31,400 | £33,900 | £42,000 |
| 12 | Loughborough University | Loughborough | £28,500 | £34,300 | £41,200 |
| 13 | Queen Mary University of London | London | £28,100 | £34,300 | £41,200 |
| 14 | The Royal Veterinary College | London | £33,200 | £39,100 | £40,700 |
| 15 | University of Nottingham | Nottingham | £28,800 | £33,900 | £40,400 |
| 16 | University of St Andrews | St Andrews | £28,500 | £32,100 | £40,000 |
| 17 | St George's Hospital Medical School | London | £27,700 | £33,600 | £39,800 |
| 18 | University of Exeter | Exeter | £26,600 | £32,500 | £39,800 |
| 19 | Richmond, The American International University | London | £18,600 | £28,800 | £39,600 |
| 20 | University of Birmingham | Birmingham | £27,700 | £32,400 | £38,700 |
The London School of Economics leads by a wide margin. Its graduates earn £57,700 at the five-year mark, nearly double the sector median. Imperial is second at £54,000. Oxford and Cambridge follow closely, with five-year medians of £50,000 and £49,800 respectively.
The top of the table is dominated by research-intensive universities, but not exclusively. University of Bath, which is not a Russell Group member, places fifth at £47,400. Loughborough, also outside the Russell Group, sits at 12th with £41,200. Institutional prestige alone does not explain graduate earnings. Course design, placement programmes and employer connections all contribute.
Compare earnings for any university
Every university on UniLens shows graduate earnings by subject alongside employment rates, student satisfaction and financial stability.
Browse all 415 universities →Three institutions that tell the story
Imperial College London: computing graduates earn £79,600
Imperial places second overall with a £54,000 median at five years. But the subject-level data is where it stands out. Computing graduates from Imperial earn a median of £79,600 five years after graduating. That is more than 2.5 times the sector-wide median. For an international student paying £38,000 in annual tuition, the payback period is short. Imperial's graduates also see strong growth: earnings rise 38% from year one (£39,100) to year five.
Durham University: the steepest growth trajectory
Durham graduates start at £28,500 in their first year but reach £43,800 by year five, a 54% increase. That is one of the steepest growth rates in the top 20. Durham's top-earning subject is Economics, where graduates earn £65,000 at the five-year mark. The growth pattern suggests that Durham graduates enter industries with structured progression, finance and professional services in particular, where salaries accelerate after the first few years.
Aston University: a post-1992 that competes on earnings
Aston University in Birmingham is not a Russell Group member, but its graduates earn £37,600 at five years, placing it 24th nationally. That is only £1,100 behind its Russell Group neighbour, the University of Birmingham, at £38,700. Aston's top-earning subject is Economics at £48,500. Its placement year programme, where most students spend a year in paid industry work, is a significant factor. For education advisors, Aston is a strong example of a university where graduate outcomes exceed what the brand name alone might suggest.
Bottom 20 universities by graduate earnings
These institutions have the lowest five-year median earnings among the 151 universities with published LEO data. Many are specialist arts and performing arts institutions where career paths are different from mainstream graduate employment. The figures should be read in that context.
| # | University | City | 1yr | 3yr | 5yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 132 | Royal Northern College of Music | Manchester | £19,500 | £19,700 | £26,400 |
| 133 | Guildhall School of Music & Drama | London | £22,900 | £22,400 | £26,400 |
| 134 | University of Staffordshire | Stoke-on-Trent | £23,400 | £25,200 | £26,300 |
| 135 | Liverpool Hope University | Liverpool | £20,800 | £24,100 | £25,900 |
| 136 | University for the Creative Arts | Farnham | £19,700 | £23,000 | £25,900 |
| 137 | University of the Highlands and Islands | Inverness | £23,400 | £25,200 | £25,600 |
| 138 | Leeds Arts University | Leeds | £19,000 | £22,600 | £25,600 |
| 139 | University College Birmingham | Birmingham | £19,700 | £22,600 | £25,600 |
| 140 | University of Greater Manchester | Bolton | £23,000 | £22,600 | £25,200 |
| 141 | Falmouth University | Falmouth | £20,100 | £22,600 | £24,800 |
| 142 | Glyndwr University | Wrexham | £22,600 | £23,200 | £24,800 |
| 143 | Trinity Laban Conservatoire | London | £16,100 | £19,400 | £24,700 |
| 144 | Norwich University of the Arts | Norwich | £19,700 | £21,900 | £24,500 |
| 145 | University of Sunderland | Sunderland | £21,900 | £23,400 | £24,500 |
| 146 | LIPA | Liverpool | £17,300 | £21,400 | £24,200 |
| 147 | University of Wales: Trinity Saint David | Lampeter | £19,700 | £22,600 | £24,100 |
| 148 | Bloomsbury Institute | London | £21,900 | £25,100 | £23,700 |
| 149 | BIMM University | Brighton | £18,600 | £21,500 | £23,400 |
| 150 | Rose Bruford College | London | £22,600 | £23,400 | £23,200 |
| 151 | Institute of Contemporary Music Performance | London | £19,700 | £20,600 | £21,200 |
Performing arts institutions occupy many of the bottom positions. This reflects the nature of careers in music, theatre and dance, where income is often freelance, portfolio-based and takes longer to build. Rose Bruford College, for example, has a 91.4% sustained employment rate despite its low median earnings. The graduates are working, but in industries with different pay structures.
Bloomsbury Institute is a notable outlier. Its five-year earnings (£23,700) are lower than its three-year earnings (£25,100), meaning the median graduate is earning less further into their career. That is unusual and warrants closer inspection before recommending it to students.
Subject choice matters as much as university choice
Within any single university, the gap between the highest and lowest earning subjects can be enormous. At Oxford, Business and Management graduates earn £93,800 at the five-year mark. At Cambridge, Economics graduates earn £91,600. Computing graduates at Imperial earn £79,600, and Law graduates at LSE earn £79,200.
Computing consistently appears as the top-earning subject across multiple universities, including Bristol (£70,300), Warwick (£73,400) and Southampton (£72,300). For international students choosing between a high-ranking university in a lower-earning subject and a slightly lower-ranked university in Computing or Economics, the earnings data often favours the subject choice.
Education advisors should help students look at subject-level earnings, not just the university-level median. UniLens shows earnings by subject for every institution.
What this means for education advisors
Graduate earnings data gives advisors a concrete, evidence-based tool for guiding student decisions. Three practical steps:
- Show students the five-year figure, not just year one. First-year earnings reflect entry-level jobs. The five-year figure captures career progression and is a better measure of long-term value. Durham graduates earn £28,500 in year one but £43,800 by year five. The trajectory matters.
- Compare at the subject level. A student choosing Computing at Southampton (£72,300 at five years) is in a different position from one choosing Creative Arts at the same university. Subject-level data is available on every UniLens profile.
- Combine earnings with other signals. Graduate earnings alongside financial stability, student satisfaction and employment rates gives you a complete picture. A university with strong earnings but weak finances may not deliver the same outcomes in three years.
Check any university now
Search all 415 universities on UniLens and see graduate earnings by subject alongside employment, satisfaction and financial stability data.
Browse universities →Data sources
Graduate earnings data comes from the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset, which links higher education records to HMRC tax data. LEO is published by the Department for Education. UniLens uses the most recent available release.
LEO measures median annual earnings for UK-domiciled graduates in sustained employment at one, three and five years after graduation. The data covers all graduates, not a sample. Earnings are measured before tax.
Sector context draws on the Etio International Student Barometer 2026, published analysis from the Office for Students, and the House of Commons Treasury Committee inquiry into student loans. Subject-level earnings are drawn from LEO data at the subject and provider level. Employment rates come from the Graduate Outcomes survey published by HESA.
151 of the 174 institutions on UniLens have published LEO earnings data. The remaining 23 are excluded from this ranking because their data is suppressed for statistical disclosure reasons or because they are too recently established to have five-year outcome data.