Everything is bigger in Texas…except MBA pay. That’s probably unfair to say, as the Southwest region also includes Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. However, the Southwest made the biggest headlines for regional pay. That’s because the numbers are a bit askew. This year’s #1? Think last year’s top performer in the South – NYU Stern. Their grads saw their pay jump from $144,500 to $178,000 between 2021 and 2022. Just one issue: The pay represents the average of three graduates. In reality, Dartmouth College’s Tuck School deserves the honors here. The 14 Tuck grades who migrated to the Southwest earned $175,583 to start, a $30,674 jump over the previous year. Even more, Tuck’s total wasn’t artificially inflated, with the highest-paid grad making just $192K. Like the Midwest, Southwest employers didn’t give a hometown bump to the local stars. At Rice University’s Jones Graduate School, MBAs snagged starting bases of $145,779, 13th-best in the region. The University of Texas’ McCombs School didn’t fare any better, as their grad pay ranked 15th at $144,268. Overall, the highest paycheck will be cashed by a Northwestern Kellogg grad, who negotiated a $360K package. A McCombs MBA will also make $225K to start, while a Rice Jones grad will collect $190K.