For students looking to save money on college tuition, public schools can be a great option.
As the following list indicates, students who attend public universities can go on to make quite a lot of money, too.
PayScale, the creator of the world's largest compensation database, recently looked at the starting and mid-career pay for over a million college grads — including professionals who graduated with a bachelor's from 963 colleges and universities.
For its College Salary Report, which was compiled using data from employees who successfully completed PayScale's employee survey, PayScale sorted the results by college major, degree, college, and type of school.
Here are the public colleges where students with a bachelor's degree go on to earn the most money 10-plus years into their career:
17. (tie) Texas A&M University
Early career median pay: $54,400
Mid-career median pay: $99,700
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 52%
Undergraduate enrollment: 7,550
17. (tie) New Jersey Institute of Technology
Early career median pay: $57,100
Mid-career median pay: $99,700
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 53%
Undergraduate enrollment: 47,093
16. Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Early career median pay: $58,900
Mid-career median pay: $100,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 50%
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,401
13. (tie) University of California, Santa Barbara
Early career median pay: $50,400
Mid-career median pay: $101,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 52%
Undergraduate enrollment: 20,238
13. (tie) South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
Early career median pay: $63,000
Mid-career median pay: $101,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 64%
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,471
13. (tie) Missouri University of Science and Technology
Early career median pay: $63,400
Mid-career median pay: $101,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 53%
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,520
10. (tie) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Early career median pay: $58,100
Mid-career median pay: $102,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 48%
Undergraduate enrollment: 32,959
10. (tie) Michigan Technological University
Early career median pay: $63,000
Mid-career median pay: $102,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 48%
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,658
10. (tie) California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Early career median pay: $59,300
Mid-career median pay: $102,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 52%
Undergraduate enrollment: 19,246
8. (tie) Virginia Military Institute
Early career median pay: $54,100
Mid-career median pay: $108,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 46%
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,700
8. (tie) University of California, San Diego
Early career median pay: $54,400
Mid-career median pay: $108,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 61%
Undergraduate enrollment: 24,810
6. (tie) University of California, Berkeley
Early career median pay: $60,500
Mid-career median pay: $112,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 55%
Undergraduate enrollment: 27,126
6. (tie) Georgia Institute of Technology
Early career median pay: $65,300
Mid-career median pay: $112,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 48%
Undergraduate enrollment: 14,682
5. Colorado School of Mines
Early career median pay: $65,200
Mid-career median pay: $114,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 55%
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,456
4. United States Air Force Academy
Early career median pay: $68,800
Mid-career median pay: $124,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 63%
Undergraduate enrollment: 3,952
3. United States Naval Academy at Annapolis
Early career median pay: $72,900
Mid-career median pay: $125,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 65%
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,511
2. United States Military Academy at West Point
Early career median pay: $76,000
Mid-career median pay: $126,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 72%
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,414
1. SUNY — Maritime College
Early career median pay: $69,700
Mid-career median pay: $144,000
Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 47%
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,641
Find out how your salary stacks up on PayScale.
