Bachelor's · Durham, North Carolina

Is Mechanical Engineering at Duke University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $95,297; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $129,959; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $13,250; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $101k (likely $101k – $101k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $94k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NC; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2 years (likely 1.7–2.5); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $628k (likely $461k – $796k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.72M (likely $1.32M – $2.13M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 96%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26