Two campuses made the Top 10 list of the study, with UC Berkeley ranked fifth and UC San Diego placing eighth.
Payscale's study was based on surveys of employees on their annual pay with less than two years of work experience and at mid-career with 15 years experience who hold only bachelor's degrees.
The median salary for new graduates from UC Berkeley is $51,400 and $102,000 at mid-career; at UC San Diego, median starting salaries are $48,200 and $96,700 at mid-career, according to Payscale's data for 2011-12.
Other UC campuses that made Payscale's full list of top public schools and their median starting and mid-career salaries:
| Campus |
Median starting salary |
Median mid-career salary |
| UCLA |
$49,200 |
$91,100 |
| UC Santa Barbara |
$47,300 |
$91,000 |
| UC Irvine |
$44,800 |
$90,600 |
| UC Riverside |
$43,900 |
$88,800 |
| UC Davis |
$47,600 |
$87,100 |
| UC Santa Cruz |
$42,900 |
$81,700 |
State University of New York Maritime College topped the rankings at $57,300 and $109,000.
See the full list of top state universities by salary earning potential at Payscale's website.