Stanford MBA graduates’ average salary has now increased for eight consecutive years, according to the Graduate School of Business’ (GSB) annual employment reports.

Now, according to the 2022 Stanford MBA Employment Report, which was released Thursday, the average MBA student can expect to make more than a quarter million — specifically, $257,563 — per year in annual compensation upon graduating.

Featuring itemized data going back to the Class of 2018, each report is a “snapshot” of outcomes three months after graduation, according to Jamie Schein MBA ’91, assistant dean and director of the Career Management Center of the GSB.

The record figure represents an increase in real earnings from the previous year, bucking a trend amid economic slowdowns that have affected several industries GSB students commonly enter. Although compensation climbed 11.09% from $231,849 in the previous year, the purchasing power increased by slightly less — 10.91% — given inflation over the same period.

Of the 309 individuals who sought employment, 93% received a job offer within three months of graduating. Such offers led 33% of recent graduates to enter financial services, 30% to enter technology and 15% to enter consulting. More recently, the GSB has also seen an increase in decisions among students to enter careers in media, entertainment, energy and healthcare, Schein said.

The compensation summary for the Class of 2022 is derived from base salary, performance bonus and signing bonus, whose medians were $175,000, $45,000 and $30,000, respectively. It is adjusted for the proportions of respondents who provided data for each metric. New graduates self-reported their outcomes until mid-October 2022, and the GSB analyzed data in accordance with standards set by the MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance.

142 recent graduates, accounting for 32% of the overall cohort, did not seek employment, according to the report. The majority of those not seeking employment listed their reason as “already employed” or “starting a new business.” 46% of graduates starting a new business or joining a startup are women.

“Our approach at the GSB is to support each student to identify and pursue opportunities that align with their skills, interests, priorities and values,” Schein said, adding that the Career Management Center offers industry-specific workshops spanning skills such as networking, storytelling and offer negotiation.