Best Computer Programmer programs in Pennsylvania, ranked by enrollment
Create, modify, and test the code and scripts that allow computer applications to run. Work from specifications drawn up by software and web developers or other individuals.
75 schools in Pennsylvania run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,664 people a year. The job pays a median of $89,180 in Pennsylvania across about 3,120 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
14 programs in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Pennsylvania (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Pennsylvania page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 11.0701In Pennsylvania → | 2,529 | 69.0% | 55 | $70,374 | $23,250 |
| 2 | CIP 30.3001In Pennsylvania → | 270 | 7.4% | 7 | $50,745 | $27,000 |
| 3 | CIP 52.1201In Pennsylvania → | 193 | 5.3% | 13 | $59,352 | $24,618 |
| 4 | CIP 30.7101In Pennsylvania → | 183 | 5.0% | 11 | — | — |
| 5 | CIP 11.0803In Pennsylvania → | 151 | 4.1% | 4 | $33,504 | $27,000 |
| 6 | CIP 11.0804In Pennsylvania → | 105 | 2.9% | 4 | $33,504 | $27,000 |
| 7 | Computer Programming/Programmer, Generalmain feeder CIP 11.0201In Pennsylvania → | 74 | 2.0% | 7 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 8 | CIP 30.7199In Pennsylvania → | 73 | 2.0% | 2 | — | — |
| 9 | Computer Programming, Specific Applicationsmain feeder CIP 11.0202In Pennsylvania → | 55 | 1.5% | 7 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 10 | CIP 30.7103In Pennsylvania → | 12 | 0.3% | 1 | — | — |
| 11 | Computer Game Programmingmain feeder CIP 11.0204In Pennsylvania → | 10 | 0.3% | 1 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 12 | CIP 15.1204In Pennsylvania → | 4 | 0.1% | 1 | $48,829 | $21,696 |
| 13 | CIP 11.0902In Pennsylvania → | 3 | 0.1% | 2 | $43,901 | $22,822 |
| 14 | Computer Programming, Specific Platformsmain feeder CIP 11.0205In Pennsylvania → | 2 | 0.1% | 1 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
Top 25 schools in Pennsylvania
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 22 of the 75 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA Private not-for-profit · 7 feeder programs | 666 | Computer Science | $171,264 | 94% | $23,803 | 12% |
| 2 | Drexel University Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 346 | Computer Science | $86,930 | 78% | $36,004 | 79% |
| 3 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 327 | Computer Science | $124,678 | 97% | $22,055 | 5% |
| 4 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 301 | Computer Science | $77,599 | 85% | — | 58% |
| 5 | Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 208 | Computer Science | $72,884 | 86% | — | 61% |
| 6 | Harrisburg University of Science and Technology Harrisburg, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 184 | Computer Science | — | 34% | $14,140 | 87% |
| 7 | Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 182 | Computer Science | $88,587 | 88% | $26,912 | 26% |
| 8 | Eastern University Saint Davids, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 102 | Data Analytics, General | — | 54% | $25,146 | 91% |
| 9 | Robert Morris University Moon Township, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 100 | Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation | — | 66% | $24,175 | 90% |
| 10 | Temple University Philadelphia, PA Public · 4 feeder programs | 96 | Computer Graphics | — | 75% | — | 80% |
| 11 | Pennsylvania State University - World Campus University Park, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 75 | Computational Science | — | 34% | — | 91% |
| 12 | Dickinson College Carlisle, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 68 | Computer Science | — | 80% | $22,831 | 42% |
| 13 | Villanova University Villanova, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 64 | Computer Science | — | 92% | $33,774 | 27% |
| 14 | Pennsylvania State University - Penn State Abington Abington, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 55 | Computer Science | — | 20% | — | 97% |
| 15 | Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA Public · 3 feeder programs | 49 | Computer Programming, Specific Applications | — | 54% | — | 91% |
| 16 | Montgomery County Community College Blue Bell, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Computer Science | — | 28% | — | — |
| 17 | Pennsylvania State University - Penn State Erie - Behrend College Erie, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 49 | Computer Science | — | 44% | — | 97% |
| 18 | Pennsylvania Western University California, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Computer Science | — | 52% | — | 94% |
| 19 | Community College of Allegheny County Pittsburgh, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Computer Programming/Programmer, General | $42,640 | 24% | — | — |
| 20 | Pennsylvania State University - Penn State Great Valley Malvern, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 36 | Computational Science | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Moravian University Bethlehem, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 31 | Computer Science | $52,133 | 72% | $28,454 | 54% |
| 22 | Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Computer Science | $62,647 | 79% | $34,418 | 89% |
| 23 | Northampton County Area Community College Bethlehem, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 29 | Computer Science | — | 24% | — | — |
| 24 | Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 28 | Computer Science | $65,098 | 77% | $32,060 | 84% |
| 25 | Grove City College Grove City, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Computer Science | — | 83% | — | 72% |
All 75 schools in Pennsylvania
Every school in Pennsylvania with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh | Private not-for-profit | 666 | 7 |
| Drexel University | Philadelphia | Private not-for-profit | 346 | 2 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | Private not-for-profit | 327 | 4 |
| University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh | Public | 301 | 2 |
| Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus | University Park | Public | 208 | 2 |
| Harrisburg University of Science and Technology | Harrisburg | Private not-for-profit | 184 | 1 |
| Lehigh University | Bethlehem | Private not-for-profit | 182 | 2 |
| Eastern University | Saint Davids | Private not-for-profit | 102 | 2 |
| Robert Morris University | Moon Township | Private not-for-profit | 100 | 2 |
| Temple University | Philadelphia | Public | 96 | 4 |
| Pennsylvania State University - World Campus | University Park | Public | 75 | 2 |
| Dickinson College | Carlisle | Private not-for-profit | 68 | 2 |
| Villanova University | Villanova | Private not-for-profit | 64 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania State University - Penn State Abington | Abington | Public | 55 | 1 |
| Kutztown University of Pennsylvania | Kutztown | Public | 49 | 3 |
What computer programmers earn in Pennsylvania
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $100,390. Pennsylvania pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Pennsylvania
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Computer Programmers page.
How to become a Computer Programmer
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Pennsylvania
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 17 majors mapped to Computer Programmers17 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 11.0201Computer Programming/Programmer, General
- 11.0202Computer Programming, Specific Applications
- 11.0203Computer Programming, Vendor/Product Certification
- 11.0204Computer Game Programming
- 11.0205Computer Programming, Specific Platforms
- 11.0299Computer Programming, Other
- 11.0701Computer Science
- 11.0803Computer Graphics
- 11.0804Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation
- 11.0902Cloud Computing
- 15.1204Computer Software Technology/Technician
- 30.3001Computational Science
- 30.7101Data Analytics, General
- 30.7103Data Visualization
- 30.7199Data Analytics, Other
- 51.0709Medical Office Computer Specialist/Assistant
- 52.1201Management Information Systems, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing computer programmers programs in Pennsylvania.
What degree do you need to become a Computer Programmer?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer Science, which awarded 2,529 degrees in Pennsylvania in 2024-25, 69.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Computer Programmer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 14 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer Science, Computational Science, Data Analytics, Computer Software and Media Applications, plus 4 more. Together they graduate about 3,664 people a year in Pennsylvania.
How much do computer programmers earn in Pennsylvania?+
The median is $89,180 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 11.2% below the U.S. median of $100,390. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for computer programmers growing?+
BLS projects a -6.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 5,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Pennsylvania?+
75 institutions in Pennsylvania reported graduates from at least one of the 14 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do computer programmers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Programmer, Analyst Programmer, Programmer Analyst, Computer Programmer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1251.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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