The average student loan debt is now $39,400, and yet Americans still like to believe that going to college is an investment in the future. It brings lifelong friendships, challenging coursework and hopefully a good job at the end. But has anyone ever thought to conduct a rigorous ROI analysis, considering the average tuition costs, student debt and earnings potential for graduates?
We found the numbers for our map from Payscale.com, which calculated a few different metrics for every major college or university in each state across the country. They took the average total cost of tuition (the red part of our visual), the average student debt (the puple part), the typical length of time to graduation (usually 4 years), and the graduation rate. They then determined the 20-year ROI for going to school by comparing two different populations: people who skip college and start a career right after high school, and people who go to college and wait to start a career. In other words, think about a high school graduate with 24 years of experience compared to a college graduate with only 20. What is the net difference, if any, in pay? That’s the blue part of our visual.
Here is a comprehensive list of the best value schools in every state:
| State | College | 20 Year Net ROI ($) | Total 4 Year Cost | Average Loan Amount ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | United States Merchant Marine Academy | 1,094,000 | 34,900 | 20,000 |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 1,015,000 | 249,000 | 30,200 |
| Maryland | United States Naval Academy | 1,004,000 | 0 | N/A |
| California | Harvey Mudd College | 978,000 | 272,000 | 25,500 |
| Colorado | Colorado School of Mines | 909,000 | 126,000 | 26,700 |
| Georgia | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 856,000 | 101,000 | 33,500 |
| New Jersey | Stevens Institute of Technology | 832,000 | 250,000 | 26,700 |
| Michigan | Kettering University | 766,000 | 215,000 | 44,200 |
| Missouri | Missouri University of Science and Technology | 753,000 | 87,300 | 27,000 |
| Indiana | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 751,000 | 239,000 | 45,800 |
| Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania | 739,000 | 262,000 | 28,600 |
| Maine | Maine Maritime Academy | 718,000 | 103,000 | 70,200 |
| Connecticut | United States Coast Guard Academy | 714,000 | 0 | N/A |
| New Hampshire | Dartmouth College | 707,000 | 265,000 | 24,700 |
| New Mexico | New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology | 692,000 | 79,100 | 19,400 |
| Virginia | Virginia Military Institute | 680,000 | 111,000 | 34,400 |
| Texas | Rice University | 650,000 | 229,000 | 29,500 |
| North Carolina | Duke University | 641,000 | 262,000 | 24,700 |
| South Dakota | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 635,000 | 93,500 | 29,700 |
| Montana | Montana Tech of the University of Montana | 634,000 | 77,400 | 21,200 |
| Washington, D.C. | Georgetown University | 619,000 | 263,000 | 26,100 |
| Rhode Island | Brown University | 616,000 | 257,000 | 28,700 |
| Wisconsin | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 611,000 | 193,000 | 31,000 |
| Washington | University of Washington-Bothell Campus | 609,000 | 109,000 | 23,300 |
| Utah | Brigham Young University-Provo | 595,000 | 71,100 | 20,000 |
| Illinois | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 585,000 | 118,000 | 27,600 |
| Oregon | Oregon Institute of Technology | 572,000 | 90,000 | 25,600 |
| Ohio | Case Western Reserve University | 568,000 | 242,000 | 32,200 |
| Florida | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach | 549,000 | 194,000 | 48,400 |
| Arizona | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott | 529,000 | 192,000 | 51,100 |
| Alaska | University of Alaska Fairbanks | 527,000 | 70,500 | 24,300 |
| Alabama | University of Alabama in Huntsville | 518,000 | 96,200 | 25,000 |
| Tennessee | Vanderbilt University | 496,000 | 252,000 | 31,600 |
| West Virginia | West Virginia University Institute of Technology | 493,000 | 74,700 | 25,000 |
| Delaware | University of Delaware | 488,000 | 106,000 | 35,700 |
| Idaho | Brigham Young University-Idaho | 468,000 | 48,200 | 17,700 |
| South Carolina | Clemson University | 461,000 | 114,000 | 33,300 |
| Minnesota | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | 449,000 | 104,000 | 30,600 |
| Kansas | Ottawa University-Ottawa | 438,000 | 156,000 | 33,100 |
| Iowa | Iowa State University | 435,000 | 77,200 | 27,600 |
| Oklahoma | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 424,000 | 99,900 | 31,300 |
| Louisiana | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 422,000 | 102,000 | 26,900 |
| North Dakota | North Dakota State University-Main Campus | 413,000 | 80,400 | 35,700 |
| Arkansas | University of Arkansas | 374,000 | 93,100 | 28,700 |
| Nebraska | Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health | 363,000 | 111,000 | 32,500 |
| Nevada | University of Nevada-Reno | 363,000 | 91,500 | 24,400 |
| Kentucky | Thomas More College | 362,000 | 157,000 | 28,900 |
| Wyoming | University of Wyoming | 360,000 | 75,600 | 28,000 |
| Vermont | Middlebury College | 358,000 | 250,000 | 25,400 |
| Mississippi | Mississippi State University | 293,000 | 90,800 | 26,900 |
| Hawaii | Brigham Young University-Hawaii | 263,000 | 66,200 |
18,500 |
There are several high-level trends in our visualization. First off, no matter where you live, it clearly pays to go to college. Every single state has a large blue bar in it. The worst ROI for getting a degree is in Hawaii, but even their graduates will have earned $263,000 more than their less-educated counterparts after 20 years of working. The average ROI for all 50 schools (plus Washington DC) is an eye-popping $595,000, and the average loan amount is just under $29,000. That means that, on average, going to a high-value school gives you roughly 20x return on your money. Try getting that in the stock market.
Our map also lays out a nice visual of value schools across the U.S. The best value can be found in the Northeast, which is represented by the large blue bars in several states. There are several schools with $700k+ returns. Things look relatively modest in the South, with no state topping $700k. California meanwhile anchors the West Coast with the best value in the region, where Harvey Mudd College generates just shy of $1M in ROI for graduates.
Taking a closer look at the visualization reveals another interesting trend. Some of the schools are very well known, like MIT in Massachusetts and many of the state schools across the Midwest. But if you’re honest, how many of the top ten have you previously heard of? Clearly there are several schools with the word “technology” in the name, indicating that getting a science, engineering or IT degree carries some serious ROI. Many of these schools might not be well known in pop culture, but we bet hiring managers compete for the attention of these graduates.
But what if you are nervous about taking out student loans to finance your college career? After all, a lot of people start college but don’t finish. That can lead to the worst of both worlds: student debt but no degree (or higher earning potential) to show for it. The graduation rates are relatively high for all these schools, topping 80 and even 90+%. But if you still want to hedge your bets, consider joining the armed services through the Naval Academy ($0 in debt at graduation, but an ROI of $1,004,000). And if joining the military doesn’t appeal to you, consider instead a low-cost, low-debt school on our list, like BUY-Idaho. Graduates typically only have $17,700 in average debt, which comes out to only about $200/month in repayments over 10 years. If that still seems like a lot, remember, you’re going to make $468,000 more over the next two decades!
Data: Table 1.1