New college graduates are overestimating starting salaries by nearly $24,000, according to a survey by real estate site Clever. The average starting salary for recent graduates is $56,153, making it nearly $25,000 less than the average mid-career salary of $95,521. The study also found that students anticipate making $144,889 on average a decade into their careers. This is due to a challenging job market for college graduates, with rising tuition and rising student loan balances increasing the value of a college degree. However, employers plan to hire around 5.6% more new grads from this year's class than they hired from the class of 2025.