South of New Jersey, starting salaries slipped noticeably. Stanford graduates, for example, earned $17,000 less than their classmates in the northeast. Hometown Wharton grads fell off by $12,000 here against the northeast as well. Overall, Harvard grads snapped up the highest average paychecks in the Mid-Atlantic at $131,059. As noted earlier, such numbers don’t include sign-on bonus ($25,000 average for 56% of HBS grads in this case). It also doesn’t factor in the 19% of HBS grads in the Mid-Atlantic who claimed additional compensation like reimbursements, profit sharing, 401K, etc. On paper, Wisconsin is a Mid-Atlantic standout, averaging an impressive $120,750 (a dollar amount tempered by two facts: A) It encompasses only four graduates and B) It includes a $190,000 starting paycheck). Dartmouth (Tuck) graduates were also popular in the old colonies, finishing third in starting base pay ($125,349), with the lowest pay being $103,000.