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Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest,” though most Americans would now disagree when it comes to higher education. Fewer than 1 in 4 (22%) of adults in the United States think college is worth its price, even if the person has to take out loans, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey. About 43 million Americans—roughly 12% of the population—still carry federal student loan debt. Calculating the return on investment for higher education is more crucial than it was before the 2008 recession. An Education Data Initiative analysis shows that the cost of tuition has increased by more than a third between 2010 and 2023, when the typical investment for a bachelor’s degree, including tuition, room and board, and student loan interest, was $255,217. On average, it takes 11 years on the job to make up for the cost of a bachelor’s degree. At a time when some companies no longer require bachelor’s degrees as a job requirement, and young men are increasingly opting out of higher ed, for those who do want to go down the conventional route, ROI calculations can differ greatly. Stacker analyzed Department of Education 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 work during the AI boom. Another variable is the kind of degree. The smallest jump in ROI 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: First-year earnings can vary by $80,000 for graduates of the same degree and major who went to different schools, according to a Georgetown University report. Ken Wolter // Shutterstock #25. Social work: University of North Dakota — 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 Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock #24. Business/commerce: The University of Texas at Austin — 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 Wirestock Creators // Shutterstock #23. Mathematics: Duke University — 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 Dmitrii Sakharov // Shutterstock #22. Fine and studio arts: Columbia University in the City of New York — 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 Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock #21. Multi/interdisciplinary studies: University of the Pacific — 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 Jay Yuan // Shutterstock #20. History: Dartmouth College — 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 Spiroview Inc // Shutterstock #19. Sociology: Dartmouth College — 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 Kit Leong // Shutterstock #18. English language and literature: Georgetown University — 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 The Image Party // Shutterstock #17. Computer science: California Institute of Technology — 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 SINITAR // Shutterstock #16. Computer and information sciences: University of Pennsylvania — 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 Jeff Cleveland // Shutterstock #15. Mechanical engineering: California State University Maritime Academy — 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 Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock #14. Economics: Harvard University — 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 Spiroview Inc // Shutterstock #13. Political science and government: Dartmouth College — 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 eskystudio // Shutterstock #12. Liberal arts and sciences, general studies and humanities: Massachusetts Institute of Technology — 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 Jay Yuan // Shutterstock #11. Marketing: University of Pennsylvania — 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 George Rudy // Shutterstock #10. Criminal justice and corrections: Charter Oak State College — 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 Eileen_10 // Shutterstock #9. Finance and financial management services: University of Pennsylvania — 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 Tada Images // Shutterstock #8. Health and physical education/fitness: Rice University — 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 Moses P // Shutterstock #7. Teacher education and professional development, specific levels and methods: University of Illinois Chicago — 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 LnP images // Shutterstock #6. Accounting and related services: Georgetown University — 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 Claudine Van Massenhove // Shutterstock #5. Communication and media studies: California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo — 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 tokar // Shutterstock #4. Biology: University of San Diego — 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 Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock #3. Psychology: Bentley University — 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 PeopleImages // Shutterstock #2. Registered nursing, nursing administration, nursing research and clinical nursing: Sonoma State University — 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 Nirat.pix // Shutterstock #1. Business administration, management and operations: Manhattan College — 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.
