Data Brief

Early-Career Earnings by Utah Pathway Type

Median earnings six years after entry, grouped by pathway type across Utah institutions in the College Scorecard.

Pathways and Outcomes June 10, 2026 Utah Earnings Roi Technical 6 min read
At a glance
  1. USHE four-year institutions median $46K earnings six years after entry.
  2. Technical college median: $38K, competitive with community college ($38K) on this metric.
  3. Pathway type explains less than field of study; program-level data is the next layer (future deep dives).

How much do graduates earn six years after starting, by pathway type? The table below compares USHE four-year, community college, technical college, for-profit, and private nonprofit medians using the same earnings field1 across the Utah Opportunity Chain.

Median earnings 6 years after entry
By pathway type · Utah College Scorecard
$46K
Four-year
$53K
Private
$38K
Technical
$38K
Community
$25K
For-profit

Source: College Scorecard · Utah 63 institutions

What this means

Early-career earnings alone do not define ROI. Net price and debt matter (Parts 5 and 8). Technical and community pathways show overlapping medians, which is why families should compare specific programs, not sector labels alone.

Sources & methodology
  • College Scorecard MD_EARN_WNE_P6
  • Utah institution registry (Data/higher-education/institutions/utah-institutions.json)
  • BLS OES Utah used for labor-market context in editorial review

Full methodology

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