Foreign Graduates Are Crushing Natural-Born Americans in Pay, Analysis Finds

College graduates who immigrated to the U.S. on student visas earn substantially more than their native-born counterparts, according to an analysis by the Economic Innovation Group (EIG).

The median salary for natural-born U.S. college graduates, as of 2023, is $87,000, while graduates who initially came to the U.S. on student visas earned a median of $115,000, the EIG’s analysis of the National Survey of College Graduates showed. The findings follow the Trump administration’s heightened scrutiny of foreign students amid concerns over national security and antisemitism on campuses.

India and China are the top two countries of origin for foreign-born graduates, with approximately 372,000 and 303,000 graduates working full-time in the U.S. as of 2023, respectively, according to the EIG. Indian graduates had a median income of $146,000, while Chinese graduates earned $125,000, well above the median income of their native-born counterparts.

Graduates who immigrate to the U.S. on a student visa are more likely to work in jobs performing research and development, or become entrepreneurs, the EIG found. Additionally, foreign-born graduates are twice as likely to hold a master’s degree and six times as likely to have a PhD compared to native-born graduates.

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