Stanford GBS again carried the top spot in the West Region…barely. In 2018, Stanford grads bested their Harvard counterparts by $6,000. Last year, that gap had narrowed to $1,700. Like most regions, The Big Three – Stanford, Harvard, and Wharton – ranked above their peers in some order. The big news: HBS and Wharton saw their bases jump by $12K and $10K – while Stanford managed a $7,500 increase over the previous year. At the same time, Berkeley Haas grads pay rose nearly $9K. One positive sign: 15 business schools reported graduates who earned $180K or more to start, including Duke Fuqua ($325K), USC Marshall ($230K), NYU Stern ($190K), and BYU Marriott ($180K).