UCLA Anderson MBA Salary: By Job Location (2025) (Analysis)

In this in-depth analysis of the UCLA Anderson MBA Employment outcome for the 2025 graduating class by job location, we cover:

1.    North America: Domestic Consolidation and Execution-Led Hiring Lifted Both Hiring Percentage and Compensation
2.    West: California-Centric Execution Ecosystem Drove a Three-Quarter Hiring Concentration
3.    Northeast: Deal Execution and Consulting Density Sustained High Pay Despite Modest Hiring Volume
4.    Southwest: Selective Corporate and Energy-Linked Roles Reduced Hiring Volume but Maintained Strategic Presence 
5.    Midwest: Selective Leadership Hiring Anchored in Industrial and Corporate Transformation
6.    Mid-Atlantic: Policy-Adjacent Strategy and Healthcare Execution Driving Measured MBA Demand
7.    South: Structurally Limited MBA Intake Amid Localized, Experience-Driven Hiring Volume
8.    International: Fewer Cross-Border Roles, Higher Seniority and Compensation Thresholds

North America: Domestic Consolidation and Execution-Led Hiring Lifted Both Hiring Percentage and Compensation 

North America absorbed 93.9% of UCLA Anderson MBA placements in 2025, up from 89.5% in 2024, while the median base salary increased sharply from $145,000 to $168,500 and the median signing bonus held at $30,000, lifting total median compensation to $198,500. The increase reflects a structural re-concentration of MBA hiring into U.S. execution hubs, not a collapse of international demand.

Between Q3 2024 and Q2 2025, employers across technology, consulting, and financial services narrowed recruiting to jurisdictions offering regulatory certainty, faster onboarding, and immediate client deployment. At the same time, UCLA Anderson’s dominant hiring industries, technology (28.3%), consulting (25.6%), and financial services (19.4%), are all sectors where client delivery and deal execution are overwhelmingly U.S.-centered. This explains why domestic placement expanded while compensation moved upward: firms were not hedging risk; they were staffing where work was actually being delivered.

West: California-Centric Execution Ecosystem Drove a Three-Quarter Hiring Concentration 

The West accounted for 75% of total UCLA Anderson placements in 2025, up from 73% in 2024, with median base salary rising from $148,000 to $170,000 and median signing bonus increasing from $17,500 to $30,000. This region was the single most important determinant of Anderson’s overall employment outcomes.

Los Angeles – Close to 42% Placements

Los Angeles alone absorbed 41.7% of graduates, with a median base salary of $175,000 and $30,000 signing bonus, producing $205,000 in total median compensation. This reflects LA’s role as a multi-industry execution hub, not merely an entertainment market. In 2025, LA-based hiring was driven by:

•    Technology-enabled media and advertising platforms are commercializing data and AI tools
•    Consulting delivery teams supporting entertainment, healthcare, and consumer firms
•    Corporate strategy and finance roles within large diversified companies headquartered or operating in Southern California

The convergence of technology, consulting, and media explains why LA compensation aligns with consulting and finance benchmarks rather than consumer or entertainment averages.

Bay Area – 20% of Hires

The broader Bay Area corridor absorbed 20% of hires, with a median base salary of $171,000 and a higher median signing bonus of $37,500, lifting total compensation to $208,500. Hiring here was concentrated in enterprise software, platform monetization, AI commercialization, and consulting roles serving technology clients. The higher bonus relative to base pay reflects competition between technology firms and consulting practices for the same execution-ready MBA talent.

Anaheim – Lower Base Salary

Anaheim on its own (3.9%) shows a lower base ($114,400), reflecting operations, logistics, and consumer-adjacent roles, not the technology or finance-heavy positions seen elsewhere in California.

San Diego – Middle of the Spectrum Base Salary

San Diego placements were smaller and skewed toward healthcare, life sciences operations, and defense-adjacent technology, explaining the $150,000 median base and absence of standardized bonuses.

Seattle – Above the Middle of the Spectrum Base Salary

Seattle absorbed 5.6% of hires, with a median base salary of $156,050 and a notably high median signing bonus of $54,000, producing $210,050 in total compensation. This compensation structure reflects cloud infrastructure, enterprise software, and platform operations roles, where firms use bonuses to secure MBAs with cross-functional execution capability without permanently inflating base pay.

Across the West, the common driver was execution-stage hiring, commercialization, transformation, and delivery, fully aligned with Anderson’s dominant functions in consulting, finance, marketing analytics, and operations.

Northeast: Deal Execution and Consulting Density Sustained High Pay Despite Modest Hiring Volume 

The Northeast accounted for 9.4% of placements in 2025, broadly stable relative to 9.6% in 2024, but the median base salary rose sharply from $142,000 to $175,000, while the median signing bonus remained elevated at $50,000, resulting in $225,000 total median compensation.

New York Dominated Northeast with the Biggest Jump in Base Salary

New York dominated Northeast hiring, accounting for 7.2% of total placements. Hiring here was driven by investment banking execution, restructuring advisory, and consulting roles tied to financial services, healthcare, and infrastructure deals. Between late 2024 and mid-2025, deal complexity and size increased even as volumes remained selective, pushing firms to hire fewer but more senior MBAs, explaining why compensation rose even as hiring share stayed flat.

Massachusetts placements were limited and concentrated in healthcare, biotech strategy, and consulting, with small sample sizes explaining the lack of standardized salary reporting.

The Northeast outcome reinforces a pattern seen across schools: fewer roles, but higher responsibility and pay, concentrated in execution-critical finance and consulting functions.

Southwest: Selective Corporate and Energy-Linked Roles Reduced Hiring Volume but Maintained Strategic Presence 

The Southwest accounted for 4.4% of hires in 2025, up from 3.3% in 2024, though median base salary declined slightly to $125,000 and bonuses were less prevalent. This region includes Texas (Dallas, Houston), and Colorado, where hiring was concentrated in:

•    Corporate finance and strategy roles within large diversified firms
•    Energy-adjacent operational and planning roles, particularly in Houston
•    Technology and operations roles in Austin and Denver

The lower compensation reflects role mix rather than demand weakness. Employers in the Southwest hired Anderson MBAs into cost-sensitive, execution-focused positions rather than premium consulting or banking roles, which explains why hiring share increased while pay moderated.

Midwest: Selective Leadership Hiring Anchored in Industrial and Corporate Transformation

The Midwest accounted for 2.20% of UCLA Anderson MBA placements in 2025, up from 1.00% in 2024, with a reported median base salary of $160,000. While the absolute hiring volume remains limited, the year-over-year increase reflects a selective rebound in corporate leadership and advanced manufacturing-related roles, rather than a broad-based regional expansion.

Midwest – Transformation Hires Prioritized over Operational Expertise

During Q4 2024 and early 2025, Midwestern employers, particularly in automotive, industrial technology, and diversified manufacturing, accelerated hiring for transformation, supply chain redesign, and financial planning roles as capital expenditure cycles restarted following a cautious 2023–2024 period. 

The Midwest’s modest but higher-paying placements align with Anderson’s increased hiring into general management, operations, and finance functions, where firms sought MBAs capable of managing cost structures, productivity initiatives, and post-inflation margin normalization. The region’s compensation profile suggests that employers hired fewer candidates but placed them into roles with broader operational scope, supporting higher base salaries even with limited hiring volume.

Mid-Atlantic: Policy-Adjacent Strategy and Healthcare Execution Driving Measured MBA Demand

The Mid-Atlantic region represented 2.20% of hires in 2025, rising from 1.40% in 2024, though reported salaries remained lower at a median base of $123,950. This region’s hiring pattern reflects a concentration in policy-adjacent consulting, government-facing contracting, healthcare administration, and nonprofit-linked strategy roles, particularly around Washington, DC. 

Between Q3 2024 and Q2 2025, demand in this corridor was driven less by deal execution and more by regulatory implementation, public-sector modernization, and healthcare system restructuring, which tend to offer stable but comparatively lower compensation than private-sector finance or technology roles. 

Internal Consulting and Operational Roles Thrived

UCLA Anderson graduates placed here were primarily absorbed into internal consulting, compliance-adjacent strategy, and operations roles, explaining why hiring increased slightly while compensation remained subdued. The data indicate that the Mid-Atlantic functions as a mission-driven and policy-oriented placement channel, rather than a compensation-maximizing destination.

South: Structurally Limited MBA Intake Amid Localized, Experience-Driven Hiring Volume

The South accounted for 0.60% of placements in 2025, down from 1.00% in 2024, with an insufficient sample size for standardized salary reporting. This decline aligns with broader labor market dynamics in the region, where hiring between late 2024 and mid-2025 skewed toward industry-specific operational roles in sectors such as logistics, retail distribution, and regional healthcare systems. These roles typically prioritize local experience and industry continuity over national MBA recruiting pipelines, limiting the region’s attractiveness for Anderson graduates relative to other geographies. 

Additionally, as consulting, finance, and technology firms consolidated hiring into fewer high-density hubs, the South experienced a relative decline in MBA intake, even as underlying economic activity remained stable. The data suggest that the South’s reduced share reflects recruiting channel preferences rather than economic weakness.

International: Fewer Cross-Border Roles, Higher Seniority and Compensation Thresholds

International placements declined to 6.10% in 2025, down from 10.50% in 2024, with a reported median base salary of $112,309, compared to $103,439 last year. While the hiring share decreased, the increase in median salary indicates that international placements became more selective and senior in nature, rather than broadly distributed. This contraction mirrors a global trend observed between Q3 2024 and Q2 2025, where multinational firms tightened cross-border hiring due to visa uncertainty, delayed capital deployment, and regional economic divergence, particularly across Europe and parts of Latin America.

Asia Hiring Remained Low at Sub 4% with Demand from India Contributing the Most

Asia accounted for 3.30% of placements, down from 4.30% in 2024, but the median salary increased sharply to $112,309 from $70,884. This shift reflects a move away from entry-level post-MBA roles toward corporate strategy, regional finance, and operations leadership positions, particularly in India. India alone represented 2.20% of total placements, with a significantly higher median base salary of $140,855, driven by demand in technology services, financial services, and large conglomerates expanding domestic and regional leadership teams. These roles required global exposure combined with local market execution capability, which aligns with the selective nature of Anderson’s international placements in 2025.

Latin America and MENA – Marginal placements

Latin America accounted for 2.20% of hires, with a median base salary of $92,281, down from 3.80% in 2024. Hiring in this region was constrained by currency volatility, slower deal activity, and delayed corporate investment decisions, particularly in Brazil and Mexico during early 2025. MENA placements remained marginal at 0.60%, reflecting continued geopolitical uncertainty and limited large-scale MBA recruiting pipelines. Across both regions, employers prioritized local leadership continuity over international MBA hiring, contributing to the overall decline in placement volume.

Reference

• UCLA Anderson MBA Employment Report 2025