The 31 colleges with the best bang for your buck
Ethan Dodd
- Most graduating high school seniors have until May 1 to decide where they will go to college.
- A bachelor's degree can increase your earning potential but also drown you in student debt.
Graduating high school seniors only have a few hours left to make one of the largest financial decisions of their lives: where to get their bachelor's degree.
College graduates have steadily been making more and more money than their counterparts without bachelor's degrees. At the same time, college has gotten more expensive and drowned many in student debt. To get the best bang for your buck, students need to consider how much they'll earn in the future from investing thousands of dollars in tuition, room, and board over the next four years. That makes May 1, when most students have to decide which institution they will attend, a financial rite of passage.
Knowing the return on that degree can make this decision a little easier. Thankfully, Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce built a database ranking 4,500 colleges on their return on investment using the average net price and earnings from the US Department of Education's College Scorecard. We ranked the top 31 colleges according to how much that investment will be worth in 40 years in today's dollars.
Here are the top 31 colleges with the best return on investment.
31. Princeton University
Type of college: Private, non-profit university in the Ivy League
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,642,000
30. Kettering University
Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university
Location: Flint, Michigan
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,642,000
29. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university
Location: Terre Haute, Indiana
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,665,000
28. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university
Location: Troy, New York
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,687,000
27. Lehigh University
Type of college: Private, non-profit research university
Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,688,000
26. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university
Location: Worcester, Massachusetts
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,725,000
25. Georgia Institute of Technology
Type of college: Public research university and engineering institute
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,729,000
24. Carnegie Mellon University
Type of college: Private, non-profit research university
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,750,000
23. Duke University
Type of college: Private, non-profit research university
Location: Durham, North Carolina
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,754,000
22. SUNY Maritime College
Type of college: Public maritime college
Location: Bronx, New York City
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,761,000
21. Columbia University
Type of college: Private, non-profit research university in the Ivy League
Location: Manhattan, New York City
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,769,000
20. Yale University
Type of college: Private, non-profit research university in the Ivy League
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,777,000
19. Bentley University
Type of college: Private, non-profit university focused on business, accountancy, and finance
Location: Waltham, Massachusetts
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,786,000
18. Colorado School of Mines
Type of college: Public STEM university with focus on energy and the environment
Location: Golden, Colorado
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,794,000
17. California Institute of Technology
Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university
Location: Pasadena, California
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,810,000
16. California State University Maritime Academy
Type of college: Public maritime university
Location: Vallejo, California
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,818,000
15. University of Pennsylvania
Type of college: Private, non-profit research university in the Ivy League
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,832,000
14. Stevens Institute of Technology
Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university
Location: Hoboken, New Jersey
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,833,000
13. Harvey Mudd College
Type of college: Private, non-profit liberal arts college focused on science and engineering
Location: Claremont, California
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,851,000
12. Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Type of college: Public maritime university
Location: Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,869,000
11. University of the Sciences
Type of college: Private, non-profit university
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,928,000
* It merged with Saint Joseph's University in 2022.
10. United States Merchant Marine Academy
Type of college: Public maritime academy
Location: Kings Point, New York
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,949,000
9. Georgetown University
Type of college: Private research university
Location: Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, DC
Return on investment in 40 years:$1,950,000
8. Harvard University
Type of college: Private, non-profit research university in the Ivy League
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,967,000
7. Babson College
Type of college: Private, non-profit business school
Location: Wellesley, Massachusetts
Return on investment in 40 years: $1,985,000
6. Maine Maritime Academy
Type of college: Public maritime college
Location: Castine, Maine
Return on investment in 40 years: $2,043,000
5. Stanford University
Type of college: Private, non-profit research university
Location: Stanford, California
Return on investment in 40 years: $2,068,000
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Type of college: Private, non-profit STEM university
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Return on investment in 40 years: $2,273,000
3. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Type of college: Private, non-profit university focused on health and life sciences
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Return on investment in 40 years: $2,421,000
2. St Louis College of Pharmacy
Type of college: Private, non-profit university focused on health sciences
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Return on investment in 40 years: $2,714,000
1. Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Type of college: Private, non-profit college focused on health sciences
Location: Albany, New York
Return on investment in 40 years: $2,722,000
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