Contact: James Carskadon

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University graduates earn higher starting salaries than their peers from other state colleges and universities, according to a recent analysis from SmartAsset, a financial technology company.

According to SmartAsset, MSU graduates receive an average starting salary of $46,400, which is more than $3,000 higher than the next highest university in the rankings, Mississippi University for Women. The average starting salary for all Mississippi higher education graduates is $40,486.

MSU’s top ranking in average starting salary helps make it the state’s “Best Value” college according to SmartAsset. To determine which school provided the most value to students, SmartAsset examined cost of tuition, student living costs, student retention rate, average scholarships and grants awarded and average starting salary. The different categories were weighted to determine each institution’s College Education Value Index.

MSU posted a 51.53 in the College Education Value Index in the 2016 Best Value Colleges study conducted by the same company. MUW was the next highest at 45.63. MSU placed in the top 200 of the Best Value rankings nationally. The land-grant university also has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal for providing the top return on investment among Mississippi’s universities and colleges.

To view SmartAsset’s rankings for Mississippi colleges and universities, visit https://smartasset.com/student-loans/student-loan-calculator?year=2016#mississippi/salary.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.