Benjamin Franklin once said, "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest," though most Americans would now disagree when it comes to higher education. In a July 2026 survey from Gallup, a slim 12% of Americans stated that are doing a good or excellent job at keeping tuition affordable, compared to nearly 90% who believe colleges are doing a fair or poor job on affordability. And while tuition is just one part of the bigger picture when it comes to college, these costs are top of mind for countless prospective students, considering that almost 鈥攔oughly 12% of the population鈥攕till carry federal student loan debt incurred by their degrees.
Calculating the return on investment for higher education is more crucial than it was . A September 2026 report from U.S. News and World Report found that by 24% in the past 20 years鈥攁nd that's after accounting for inflation. Meanwhile, according to the Education Data Initiative, for a bachelor's degree鈥攊ncluding tuition, room and board, lost income, and student loan interest鈥攃omes out to an eye-watering $547,150 as of 2026. On average, it takes about听 of a bachelor's degree.
At a time when some companies no longer require bachelor's degrees as a job requirement, and of higher ed, for those who do want to go down the conventional route, ROI calculations can differ greatly. analyzed data for cost-conscious college hopefuls to identify public and private nonprofit four-year colleges that produced the highest-earning graduates for the 25 most popular undergraduate majors in the U.S.
The analysis shows that the choice of major is one of the biggest variables in calculating ROI, ranging from $54,263 in earnings five years after graduation for social work to $298,018 for computer and information sciences, despite newer struggles to find .
Another variable is the kind of degree. The between degree levels is a 16% jump from bachelor's to master's, whereas there is a 41% gain in weekly earnings between an associate's and a bachelor's degree.
Debt burden also varies significantly between schools: for graduates of the same degree and major who went to different schools, according to a Georgetown University report.
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1 / 25-- Location: Grand Forks, North Dakota
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $49,695 (35% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $54,263 (10% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $26,000
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2 / 25-- Location: Austin, Texas
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $94,041 (76% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: Not available
-- Median student debt at college: Not available
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3 / 25-- Location: Durham, North Carolina
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $121,088 (130% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $131,658 (80% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $13,000
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4 / 25-- Location: New York
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $51,435 (104% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $55,731 (33% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $26,853
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5 / 25-- Location: Stockton, California
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $104,803 (134% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $182,091 (217% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $15,500
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6 / 25-- Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $61,127 (85% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $95,866 (77% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $19,000
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7 / 25-- Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $64,377 (86% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $74,367 (37% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $19,250
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8 / 25-- Location: Washington D.C.
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $52,122 (71% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $78,299 (57% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $16,500
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9 / 25-- Location: Pasadena, California
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $173,344 (99% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: Not available
-- Median student debt at college: Not available
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10 / 25-- Location: Philadelphia
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $146,204 (104% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $298,016 (219% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $15,000
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11 / 25-- Location: Vallejo, California
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $92,315 (31% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $114,735 (11% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $19,690
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12 / 25-- Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $103,993 (77% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $161,251 (74% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $6,617
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13 / 25-- Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $72,618 (88% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $101,103 (50% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $17,500
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14 / 25-- Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $103,135 (173% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: Not available
-- Median student debt at college: $11,935
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15 / 25-- Location: Philadelphia
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $82,553 (73% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $124,208 (75% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $17,412
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16 / 25-- Location: New Britain, Connecticut
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $68,956 (15% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: Not available
-- Median student debt at college: $23,000
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17 / 25-- Location: Philadelphia
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $122,698 (292% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $242,357 (330% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $12,865
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18 / 25-- Location: Houston
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $51,110 (24% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $71,586 (52% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $10,000
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19 / 25-- Location: Chicago
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $60,917 (56% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $58,580 (7% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $16,750
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20 / 25-- Location: Washington D.C.
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $89,564 (59% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $165,279 (115% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $17,500
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21 / 25-- Location: San Luis Obispo, California
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $62,183 (67% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $67,009 (15% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $14,928
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22 / 25-- Location: San Diego
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $54,223 (73% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $68,950 (11% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $25,000
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23 / 25-- Location: Waltham, Massachusetts
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $62,218 (95% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: Not available
-- Median student debt at college: $25,494
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24 / 25-- Location: Rohnert Park, California
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $125,646 (60% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $131,431 (50% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $19,750
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25 / 25-- Location: Riverdale, New York
-- Typical earnings one year after graduation: $113,777 (123% higher than average)
-- Typical earnings five years after graduation: $111,699 (61% higher than average)
-- Median student debt at college: $25,328
Data reporting by Wade Zhou.
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