2024 MBA Pay: Real Estate

Why real estate? In the words of novelist Margaret Mitchell, “Land is the only thing in the world worth working for, worth fighting for, worth dying for, because it's the only thing that lasts.” She had a point. The tenants and structures may change, but people will always pay for land to achieve their dreams and solidify their legacy. In this field, Stanford GSB grads technically set the pace, earning an average of $243,333 to start. Reality is, the Wharton School is a better barometer for high-end paid for MBA real estate jobs. Wharton placed 9 graduates in the field, with 2024 graduates pulling in $155,833 on average. Rounding out the top three was Harvard Business School, where the average for 8 graduates was $148,875. However, starting pay is rather tepid for MBAs here, as the highest base salary was just $210,000 at Columbia Business School (though Stanford GSB no longer reports high and low pay to U.S. News).