As a new school year begins and summer fades into memory, students are (mostly) hard at work earning their college degree.
Some may have just started their college career, others may be a few credits from finishing, but nearly all are there to graduate, get that diploma, and start earning a living in the real world. For most of us, though, our alma matter never really leaves us. We all like to think we went to the best school and got the best education, but that can’t be true for everyone, right?
That got us thinking, so we looked into the data to see how college costs stack up against post-graduation earnings, both six and ten years post-enrollment. In other words, these are the colleges that will earn you the most salary post-graduation relative to what you paid to attend.
Our data comes straight out of the most recent College Scorecard release, which tracks everything from attendance figures and acceptance rate to student debt and more.
At the bottom we’ve included a list of the top 50, but first, here’s a quick look at the top 10:
- New York – United States Merchant Marine Academy
- Georgia – Augusta University
- Connecticut – University of Connecticut – Stamford
- West Virginia – American Public University System
- California – California State University Maritime Academy
- Nebraska – Bellevue University
- Minnesota – Capella University
- Florida – University of Florida – Online
- Utah – Brigham Young University – Provo
- Washington – University of Washington – Tacoma
Leveraging the data from College Scorecard, we looked at three variables:
- The cost of attendance
- Earnings 6 years post-enrollment (early career)
- Earnings 10 years post-enrollment (established career)
From there, we limited our list to remove community colleges so we could focus specifically on primarily undergraduate institutions. Finally, we ranked colleges on each attribute and averaged the three numbers to determine which ones had outcomes of strong career earnings both in the short term and long term without breaking the bank to get there.
With all the methodology out of the way, here’s the full list.
Best Value Colleges in Each State
| State | College | Cost of Attendance | Early Career Earnings | Established Career Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | University of Alaska Anchorage | $19,126 | $41,500 | $51,200 |
| Alabama | University of Alabama in Huntsville | $22,108 | $40,300 | $52,000 |
| Arkansas | University of Arkansas | $22,122 | $40,900 | $52,700 |
| Arizona | Chamberlain University-Arizona | $25,746 | $69,800 | $60,400 |
| California | California State University Maritime Academy | $22,301 | $76,700 | $87,800 |
| Colorado | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus | $21,105 | $48,700 | $71,200 |
| Connecticut | University of Connecticut-Stamford | $15,747 | $49,800 | $66,000 |
| Delaware | University of Delaware | $25,210 | $48,100 | $64,000 |
| Florida | University of Florida-Online | $16,735 | $47,700 | $65,700 |
| Georgia | Augusta University | $17,946 | $52,300 | $70,600 |
| Hawaii | University of Hawaii at Manoa | $23,015 | $39,000 | $51,800 |
| Iowa | University of Iowa | $21,875 | $47,700 | $62,000 |
| Idaho | Brigham Young University-Idaho | $11,833 | $35,600 | $49,400 |
| Illinois | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | $30,064 | $52,300 | $70,900 |
| Indiana | Purdue University | $22,718 | $49,000 | $62,200 |
| Kansas | University of Kansas | $24,824 | $45,100 | $59,300 |
| Kentucky | University of Kentucky | $27,215 | $43,500 | $54,000 |
| Louisiana | Louisiana State University | $27,612 | $45,000 | $60,100 |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts Maritime Academy | $23,932 | $75,200 | $96,000 |
| Maryland | University of Maryland-University College | $18,719 | $47,700 | $55,900 |
| Maine | Maine Maritime Academy | $26,948 | $82,000 | $107,200 |
| Michigan | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | $28,652 | $55,900 | $79,000 |
| Minnesota | Capella University | $19,836 | $51,500 | $72,600 |
| Missouri | Missouri University of Science and Technology | $22,045 | $57,200 | $72,400 |
| Mississippi | University of Mississippi | $23,606 | $41,300 | $56,600 |
| Montana | Montana Technological University | $18,433 | $48,100 | $52,100 |
| North Carolina | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | $24,872 | $49,900 | $68,800 |
| North Dakota | University of North Dakota | $19,670 | $45,400 | $57,800 |
| Nebraska | Bellevue University | $16,865 | $52,200 | $60,500 |
| New Hampshire | University of New Hampshire at Manchester | $20,305 | $44,900 | $57,700 |
| New Jersey | Rutgers University-Newark | $24,719 | $48,200 | $68,100 |
| New Mexico | New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology | $20,727 | $49,000 | $58,500 |
| Nevada | University of Nevada-Reno | $21,142 | $41,600 | $56,300 |
| New York | United States Merchant Marine Academy | $8,429 | $78,600 | $98,600 |
| Ohio | Mount Carmel College of Nursing | $21,029 | $54,900 | $58,100 |
| Oklahoma | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | $27,205 | $48,600 | $61,900 |
| Oregon | Oregon Institute of Technology | $22,466 | $52,900 | $57,800 |
| Pennsylvania | Penn State Wilkes-Barre | $21,350 | $43,600 | $57,200 |
| Rhode Island | University of Rhode Island | $27,834 | $42,500 | $58,400 |
| South Carolina | Clemson University | $28,545 | $48,100 | $58,900 |
| South Dakota | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | $23,835 | $56,400 | $62,400 |
| Tennessee | Baptist Memorial College of Health Sciences | $20,606 | $47,100 | $56,000 |
| Texas | The University of Texas at Austin | $24,933 | $52,200 | $73,900 |
| Utah | Brigham Young University-Provo | $17,801 | $46,600 | $71,500 |
| Virginia | Chamberlain University-Virginia | $25,746 | $69,800 | $60,400 |
| Vermont | University of Vermont | $31,606 | $40,400 | $55,200 |
| Washington | University of Washington-Tacoma Campus | $20,426 | $50,300 | $69,600 |
| Wisconsin | University of Wisconsin-Madison | $25,121 | $49,600 | $68,000 |
| West Virginia | American Public University System | $15,847 | $49,200 | $67,000 |
| Wyoming | University of Wyoming | $19,615 | $44,200 | $54,200 |
Sources:
- College Scorecard: Educational Outcome Data
