2023 MBA Pay: Midwest

The difference is striking: Stanford GSB grads outpaced their Wharton counterparts by a $248,000-to-$176,000 margin average pay. Of course, the real difference is scale: 5 Stanford GSB grads vs. 23 Wharton School grads. In fact, Wharton represents how much Midwest employers are willing to pay top MBA talent, as Booth MBAs averaged $175,524 with 135 grads opting to remain in the Midwest. Overall, 15 MBA programs reported graduates averaging $150K or more in the Midwest starting out. Among the individual winners, a Stanford GSB and Harvard Business School grad landed $450,000 and $360,000 bases respectively, while a Michigan Ross grad pocketed $300,000. Along with placing 92 students in the Midwest, the University of Michigan’s Ross School also saw graduate pay rise by $12,756 in the region. By the same token, Washington University’s Olin School placed nearly a third of the Class of 2023 in the Midwest – and saw base pay improve by $11,091 in 2023.