Wharton reports higher median base salary, fewer employment offers for 2025 MBA graduates

The median annual salary for the Wharton School’s MBA Class of 2025 increased by $10,000 compared to the previous class, despite a continued decrease in employment offers and acceptance rates.

According to Wharton’s latest career report, the median annual salary for 2025 Wharton MBAs working full-time is $185,000, compared to $175,000 in 2024. Of the 69% of 2025 graduates seeking employment, only 91% reported receiving at least one job offer — as opposed to 93% in 2024 and 97% in 2023.

The salary increase marks the first among MBAs working full-time since 2022, when the reported number jumped from $155,000 to $175,000.

In addition to a lower percentage of reported job offers, 87% of the Class of 2025 reported full-time job acceptances — as opposed to 88% in 2024.

These figures reflect similar trends across other peer MBA programs, including Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and New York University’s Stern School of Business. The decline in offers and acceptances comes amid a nationwide decrease in hiring for white-collar positions that started around 2024.

Despite the changes, Wharton MBA Career Management Director Samuel Jones wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian that students have continued to “consistently secure outstanding roles" in the workforce.

Salaries in the school’s main full-time recruiting industries — financial services, consulting, and tech — have remained relatively consistent with past years.

Financial services — including hedge funds, insurance, investment banking, and other industries — accounted for 38% of 2025 full-time job placements, remaining the largest destination with a median annual salary of $175,000. The share of students who accepted consulting offers increased from 25% in 2024 to 28% in 2025, with the median base salary of $190,000 at both years.

Technology positions represented 15% of full-time placements among the Class of 2025, with a median salary of $164,250 compared to $162,750 in 2024.

Geographically, the Northeast United States continued to attract the largest share of Class of 2025 graduates working full-time, accounting for a majority of placements. In total, 94% of jobs were based in the United States.

“Wharton supports MBA students through a combination of industry-based, personalized career advising, data-driven tools, and strong partnerships with employers and alumni,” Jones wrote to the DP. “At the same time, our Industry Teams work year-round to maintain strong hiring pipelines and develop new opportunities, giving students access to both established and emerging roles across industries.”

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