BestOnlineCollege.org is an advertising-supported website. Many of the school and program listings that appear on this site are from partners who compensate us, and this compensation may affect how, where, and in what order listings appear (such as featured placements). This compensation does not influence our editorial content, evaluations, or rankings, which are determined independently using publicly available data. We do not review or feature every school or program available in the marketplace. Our goal is to provide accurate, unbiased information so you can make informed decisions. Read our full Advertiser Disclosure.
Best Mechanical Engineering Schools Near East Lansing, MI
Updated September 7, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
East Lansing, Michigan has 5 accredited schools offering mechanical engineering programs. East Lansing has a population of about 45,394. Median household income is $43,547 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 67.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Lansing-East Lansing, MI metro area, the top-earning mechanical engineering-related role is Architectural and Engineering Managers at a median $134,540 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Mechanical Engineering Schools to East Lansing
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer mechanical engineering programs near East Lansing, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from East Lansing city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from East Lansing.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
East Lansing is part of the Lansing-East Lansing, MI metro area (BLS area code 29620). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Michigan statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Mechanical Engineers
$98,550
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
$103,737
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$134,540
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
$141,621
Industrial Engineers
$98,260
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
$103,432
Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians
$51,620
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
$54,337
Mechanical Drafters
$65,840
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
$69,305
Engineers, All Other
$95,890
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
$100,937
Aerospace Engineers
$128,960
MI statewide
$135,747
Cost Estimators
$78,310
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
$82,432
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
East Lansing at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
45,394
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$43,547
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
67.4%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
95.0 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other East Lansing-Area Cities With Mechanical Engineering Programs
How many accredited mechanical engineering schools are near East Lansing, MI?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering mechanical engineering programs near East Lansing. The closest is Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI (1.2 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (50.1 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying mechanical engineering roles near East Lansing?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying mechanical engineering-related roles near East Lansing are: Architectural and Engineering Managers ($134,540), Aerospace Engineers ($128,960), Mechanical Engineers ($98,550). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Michigan statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Lansing instead of East Lansing?
Lansing, MI is 4.5 miles from East Lansing and has its own set of local mechanical engineering programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is East Lansing an affordable place to study mechanical engineering?
East Lansing’s median household income of $43,547 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in East Lansing while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Michigan public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 7, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-2035) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
