For some MBA applicants, the geographic location of an MBA program is a key decision factor. For example, there are often industries concentrated in particular regions of the U.S., such as finance in the Northeast, manufacturing in the Midwest, energy in the Southwest or tech in the West. To help these applicants, in this article we review the job placement data by region for 30 U.S. MBA programs as reported in the 2024 employment reports.
Key Trends in MBA Job Placement Data by Region
A few key trends are apparent in the job placement by region data for the MBA Class of 2024.
It turns out that 23 of these 30 top U.S. MBA programs placed over 40% of their graduates into jobs in the home region of the business school, as displayed in this chart:
Among top business schools, Rice Business, USC Marshall and NYU Stern were highly regional in their job placement. Even among the top ranked M7 business schools, five of the M7 schools have strong regional job placement, while Booth and Kellogg were more geographically diverse in terms of job placement. Among top MBA programs, Darden and Fuqua were most geographically diverse in terms of job placement.
There are seven MBA programs where over 74% of graduates accepted jobs in the same region where the business school is located: Rice Business (85% in Southwest), NYU Stern (83% in Northeast), Marshall (81% in West), Carlson (80% in Midwest), SMU Cox (80% in Southwest), Haas (78% in West) and Anderson (74% in West). Meaning, these seven programs have a great track record of job placement in their regions. Oftentimes this is because MBA applicants select these schools in order to live and work in that region. For example, many NYU Stern MBA students likely wish to live and work in New York City.
Another eight MBA programs placed between 55% to 66% of their graduates into jobs in the region where the school is located. This includes McCombs (66% in Southwest), Tuck (66% in Northeast), Questrom (65% in Northeast), Scheller (64% in South), Johnson (63% in Northeast), Mendoza (59% in Midwest), Goizueta (59% in South) and Kelley (55% in Midwest). Similarly, many MBA students who attend McCombs are likely seeking to live and work in Texas.
There are also eight MBA programs that placed between 40% to 49% of their graduates into jobs in the region where the school is located, including HBS (49% in Northeast), MIT Sloan (48% in Northeast), and Stanford GSB (45% in West).
Note: Wharton also placed 47% in the Northeast, but Wharton is technically in the Mid-Atlantic region.
M7 School Job Placement Is Also Concentrated by Region
Even among the top ranked, globally recognized M7 business schools, a lot of 2024 MBA graduates accepted jobs in the region where the business school is located.
HBS, Wharton and MIT Sloan each have over 45% of job placements in the Northeast, while Stanford GSB has 45% of job placements in the West. Note: While CBS does not publish its job location information by region, we estimate that more than 60% of CBS graduates accept jobs in the Northeast region as well.
Among the M7 schools, both Booth and Kellogg job placement is more diversified by region. Among the MBA Class of 2024 graduates accepting jobs, Booth sent 30% to jobs in the Midwest, 30% to jobs in the Northeast and 21% to jobs in the West, while Kellogg placed 36% in the Midwest, 26% in the West and 18% in the Northeast.
Fuqua and Darden Are the Most Diversified by U.S. Region
There are just two top business schools that are truly diversified in job acceptance by region: Darden and Fuqua.
For both MBA programs, each region received at least 7% and no more than 29% of graduates. So, arguably both Darden and Fuqua have the most national and least regional job placement stats among the top U.S. business schools.
Now, we will review the job acceptance data by region in more detail.
MBA Career Placement Trends by U.S. Region
West Coast
If you are aiming for a post-MBA career on the U.S. West Coast — in the tech hubs of Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Seattle — it is helpful to know which business schools place the most graduates in the region.
The business schools located on the West Coast place a high percentage of graduates in jobs in the West:
West Coast-based business schools such as Marshall, Haas, Anderson and Stanford GSB placed the highest percentage of Class of 2024 graduates into jobs on the West Coast. Note: While Washington Foster does not include data on the jobs accepted by region in its employment reports, we estimate that over 70% of Foster’s MBA graduates accept jobs on the West Coast, particularly in the tech industry in the greater Seattle area.
Regarding West Coast job placement among graduates of non-West Coast-based business schools, Tepper placed the highest percentage of graduates accepting West Coast jobs, followed by Kellogg and Wharton. The business schools that placed the lowest percentage of graduates on the West Coast are NYU Stern, SMU Cox and Rice Business.
Since schools vary by size, we will now review the total number of Class of 2024 graduates accepting jobs on the West Coast.
Note: While all 30 business schools provided data on the percentage of jobs accepted by region, only 24 of these programs publish the total number of MBA graduates accepting jobs by region.
Anderson and Haas placed the most MBA graduates into West Coast jobs, followed by Wharton, Kellogg, HBS, Booth and Stanford GSB. Meaning, five of the M7 schools placed over 90 grads each into West Coast jobs.
Northeast
Many MBA graduates aspire to work in the Northeast, whether in finance in New York City or biotech in Boston. In addition, there are quite a few business schools that placed a large percentage of graduates into jobs in the Northeast.
MBA programs located in the Northeast placed the highest percentage of MBA graduates into jobs in the Northeast region. NYU Stern placed the highest percentage of MBA graduates into jobs in the Northeast, followed by Tuck, Boston Questrom, and Johnson. Note: While CBS does not publish job acceptances by region, we estimate that among CBS MBA graduates accepting jobs, over 60% accept jobs in the Northeast as well.
Next, five business schools had almost half of their Class of 2024 MBA graduates accept jobs in the Northeast: HBS, MIT Sloan, Wharton, Simon and Yale SOM. It is also interesting to note that while these five schools are all located in or near the Northeast, half of their graduates accepted jobs outside of the Northeast region. Meaning, they have more national placement than business schools like Stern and Tuck, whose career placements are more concentrated in the Northeast.
Among business schools not located near the Northeast, Stanford GSB placed the highest percentage of Class of 2024 MBA graduates in the Northeast, followed by Booth, Darden and Fuqua. This is likely due to MBA graduates from these schools accepting consulting and finance industry jobs in New York City.
Now we will review the actual number of MBA graduates accepting jobs in the Northeast.
HBS, Wharton and NYU Stern placed the most graduates into jobs in the Northeast, followed by Tuck, Booth and Johnson. Note: Given its size and New York City location, CBS likely places the most graduates in the Northeast.
It is also important to note that several other leading business schools not located in the Northeast also placed a sizable number of graduates into jobs in the Northeast including Darden, Fuqua, Ross and Stanford GSB.
South
Over the past generation, the South has seen solid economic growth particularly in the finance, health care and manufacturing sectors. Key economic hubs in the South include Atlanta, Nashville and the Research Triangle in North Carolina. As such, a number of MBA graduates seek out and accept jobs in this region. In addition, business schools located in the South placed the highest percentage of Class of 2024 MBA graduates into jobs in the South:
Georgia Tech Scheller and Emory Goizueta have the highest percentage of job placements in the South, followed by Vanderbilt Owen and UNC Kenan-Flagler. While both Fuqua and Darden are also located in or near the South, it is interesting to note that they actually placed more graduates in the Northeast than in the South.
Since business schools vary by class size, we will now review the actual number of MBA graduates accepting jobs in the South:
Business schools located in the South sent the most Class of 2024 MBA graduates into jobs in the South: Kenan-Flagler placed the most, followed by Owen, Fuqua and Goizueta. Among business schools not located in the South, HBS and Wharton placed the most Class of 2024 graduates in the South, followed by MIT Sloan and Booth.
Mid-Atlantic
The Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. includes the economic hubs around Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia. As a result, MBA graduates interested in careers in government or health care often accept jobs in this region.
McDonough placed the highest percentage of graduates into the Mid-Atlantic region, followed by Darden. This is likely due to the schools’ proximity to the Washington, D.C., metro area economy. Tepper and Fuqua are next, likely due to their MBA graduates accepting jobs in the tech and health care sectors in Pittsburgh and the government sector in D.C.
Now we will look at the number of Class of 2024 graduates accepting jobs in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Darden, McDonough and Wharton had the highest number of Class of 2024 graduates accepting jobs in the Mid-Atlantic region. This makes sense given their proximity Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. Fuqua is next, followed by HBS, Yale SOM and Tepper.
Midwest
The U.S. Midwest is home to several economic hubs that attract MBA graduates. For example, both Chicago and Minneapolis host the headquarters of Fortune 100 companies. In addition, there is a large manufacturing industry in and around Michigan.
Business schools located in the Midwest placed the highest percentage of MBA graduates into jobs in the Midwest. Minnesota Carlson leads the list, followed by Notre Dame Mendoza, Indiana Kelley, and Northwestern Kellogg. Among business schools not located in the Midwest, Rochester Simon, Kenan-Flagler, Tepper and Owen placed the highest percentage of 2024 MBA graduates into jobs in the Midwest. For Simon, Tepper, and Owen, this is likely due to their proximity to the Midwest.
Since schools vary by class size, we will now review the total number of Class of 2024 graduates who accept jobs in the Midwest.
Kellogg, Booth and Ross placed the most graduates in the Midwest. This is likely due to their larger class size when compared to other business schools located in the Midwest such as Kelley and Carlson. Among schools not located in the Midwest, HBS placed the most graduates in the Midwest, followed by Fuqua, Kenan-Flagler and Wharton.
Southwest
The Southwest U.S. is home to Texas, one of the largest U.S. states in terms of both population and economic activity. In particular, there is a large concentration of energy firms near Houston and tech firms near Austin. Thus, MBA graduates seeking to enter the energy or tech sector are likely to consider accepting jobs in the Southwest.
Three Texas-based MBA programs have the highest percentage of Class of 2024 graduates accepting jobs in the Southwest: Rice Business, SMU Cox and McCombs. Among business schools not located in the Southwest, Kenan-Flagler and Fuqua sent the highest percentage of graduates into jobs in the Southwest.
Now we will review the total number of Class of 2024 MBA graduates from these business schools who accepted jobs in the Southwest.
McCombs placed the largest number of MBA graduates into jobs in the Southwest region, followed by Fuqua, Darden and HBS. Note: While Rice Business and Cox do not report the total number of graduates who accept jobs in the Southwest, based on their graduating class sizes, we estimate that both programs each placed at least 40 Class of 2024 graduates into jobs in the Southwest.
Conclusion
Many top ranked, globally recognized U.S. business schools are quite regional in their MBA job placements. One reason why is that some MBA applicants may choose to attend a business school in part due to its location. For example, NYU Stern, UCLA Anderson and Berkeley Haas have high job placements in their home regions because many MBA graduates from these programs are seeking jobs in New York, Los Angeles or the Bay Area, respectively. For other top MBA programs like Darden and Fuqua, the location of the business school has less of a correlation with regional job placement.
Even if location isn’t your top priority when choosing an MBA program, understanding these job placement trends can help you make a more informed decision.
