Maine Higher Education Outcome Report

• Institutions

  26

  54,184 students enrolled

• Graduates / Year

  ~6,628

  Estimated annual completers

• Median Earnings

  30th pct

  $44,873

  35th of 50 states

• Mobility Score

  57th pct

  1.7%

  20th of 46 states

• Talent Retention

  60th pct

  69%

  First-year retention rate

• Value Ratio

  34th pct

  2.6x

  Earnings per net-price dollar

1. 1

   Maine graduates earn a median of $44,873 a decade after entry, 8% below the national state average, ranking 35th of 50 states.

2. 2

   Upward mobility sits mid-pack: the state's institutions move bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 1.7% rate, in the 57th percentile nationally.

3. 3

   Degree production is led by Healthcare and Business, which together account for 37% of graduates. That diversified mix sets what the state's labor pipeline can supply.

4. 4

   Sciences is the standout sector: graduates earn $62,525, +21.2% versus the national median. That premium points to a real wage advantage rather than sheer volume.

5. 5

   Humanities shows oversupply pressure: graduate earnings run 12.4% below the national median, suggesting the field produces more graduates than the local market rewards.

6. 6

   On value, Maine returns 2.6x earnings per dollar of net price, below average cost-to-outcome efficiency in the country.

• Earnings vs National

  ▲ +13.2%

  Median graduate earnings in Maine are above the national average by 13%.

• Cost vs National

  ▼ +5%

  Net price in Maine is higher than the national average by 5%.

• Mobility Rate

  ▲ +0.02pp

  Upward mobility rate is 0 percentage points above the national average.

• Completion Rate

  ▲ +0.1pp

  Maine's graduation rate is 0.1 percentage points above the national average.

• Best Value

  ▲ 9.2x

  Top value school: Kennebec Valley Community College ($36,035 earnings vs $3,910 net price).

• Low-Income Access

  ▼ 6.5%

  7% of students come from bottom-quintile households, a measure of how open the state's colleges are to low-income students.

Healthcare (21% of graduates) and Business (16% of graduates) dominate Maine's higher education output. Graduates in the top field earn a weighted average of $51,304.

• Healthcare

  21%

  $51,304 avg

• Business

  16%

  $46,050 avg

• Social Sciences

  12%

  $63,824 avg

• Sciences

  12%

  $62,441 avg

• Humanities

  10%

  $44,336 avg

Maine's highest-ROI degree cluster is Trades (Construction Trades), where graduates average $41,678 against a net cost of $7,326, a 5.7x return. That's -19.2% vs the national median. At the other end, Communications produces $47,157 at a 2.7x return, less than half what the top cluster delivers.

• Construction Trades

  5.7x
  $41,678 earnings · $7,326 net -19.2% vs natl

• Mechanic & Repair Tech

  5.4x
  $41,039 earnings · $7,616 net -20.4% vs natl

• Culinary & Personal Services

  5.2x
  $40,462 earnings · $7,725 net -21.5% vs natl

• Computer Science & IT

  4.0x
  $49,513 earnings · $12,328 net -4% vs natl

• Transportation

  3.8x
  $65,153 earnings · $17,169 net +26.3% vs natl

• Criminal Justice

  3.6x
  $45,644 earnings · $12,668 net -11.5% vs natl

Three lenses on Maine's talent pipeline: which fields produce the most graduates, which command the highest earnings, and where high-pay demand outruns local supply.

Maine's colleges post an average mobility rate of 1.7%, which puts the state in the 57th percentile nationally. 6% of students arrive from bottom-quintile households. Cross-class social connectedness averages 1.41, a proxy for the networks that help graduates convert a degree into mobility.

Maine's Sciences programs produce graduates earning $62,525, +21.2% relative to the national median. Humanities graduates, however, earn 12.4% below the national median, a possible sign the state produces more of these degrees than its labor market absorbs.

• Healthcare

  21% of enrollment
  $47,353 -8.2% vs natl

  17 schools

• Business

  16% of enrollment
  $47,560 -7.8% vs natl

  18 schools

• Social Sciences

  12% of enrollment
  $56,304 +9.2% vs natl

  9 schools

• Sciences

  12% of enrollment
  $62,525 +21.2% vs natl

  6 schools

• Humanities

  10% of enrollment
  $45,190 -12.4% vs natl

  9 schools

• Trades

  7% of enrollment
  $46,959 -8.9% vs natl

  8 schools

Maine's higher education system includes 1 research-oriented, 6 specialized, 2 access-oriented, 17 regional institutions. Each group plays a different role in the state's outcomes.

• 🔬

  1

  Research Universities

• 🏛️

  17

  Regional Universities

• 🚀

  2

  Access-Oriented Institutions

• 🎯

  6

  Specialized Institutions

44% of Maine's colleges charge under $15K net. Graduates of those schools average $46,831 at 10 years. At the premium end, 1 school charge over $40K, with graduates averaging $35,639.

• NET PRICE UNDER $15K

  11

  44% of schools

  Avg earnings: $46,831

• NET PRICE $15K–$25K

  7

  28% of schools

  Avg earnings: $55,915

• NET PRICE $25K–$40K

  6

  24% of schools

  Avg earnings: $57,558

• NET PRICE OVER $40K

  1

  4% of schools

  Avg earnings: $35,639

Schools ranked by median graduate earnings 10 years after enrolling.

1. 01 Maine Maritime Academy Castine, ME $89,964
2. 02 Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME $82,735
3. 03 Colby College Waterville, ME $80,490
4. 04 Maine College of Health Professions Lewiston, ME $79,840
5. 05 Bates College Lewiston, ME $69,498
6. 06 The Landing School Arundel, ME $65,849
7. 07 Saint Joseph's College of Maine Standish, ME $59,045
8. 08 University of New England Biddeford, ME $55,921

What graduates in Maine earn relative to what they pay for college.

Every figure on this page is derived from public federal data and read within its regional and economic context. Information Gain Policy →