How many years of earnings it takes to pay for a four-year degree, by state
Four years at a college's average net price, set against what its former students earn ten years after they enrolled. The lower the number, the less the degree costs relative to the pay that follows.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard and IPEDS, reporting year 2025 · 1,355 colleges · Updated November 15, 2026
At a glance
- Median payback
- 1.31 years
- Four years of net price divided by one year of median earnings, at the median college.
- Median average net price
- $19,916
- What aided first-year students pay a year after grants.
- Median earnings
- $59,737
- Former students' median earnings ten years after they enrolled.
- Under one year
- 359
- Colleges where four years cost less than a year of earnings (26%).
College Scorecard, data year 2025
Key findings
At the median of 1,355 four-year public and private nonprofit colleges, four years at the average net price cost 1.31 years of former students' median earnings ten years after they enrolled ($19,916 a year against $59,737 in earnings).
New Mexico has the fastest payback, 0.61 years at the median of its 7 colleges; Rhode Island has the slowest, 1.97 years across 10 colleges.
Public colleges pay back in a median 0.97 years, against 1.55 years at private nonprofit colleges.
359 colleges (26%) cost less over four years than one year of their former students' median earnings; 127 colleges (9%) take more than two years.
Among colleges with an average net price of at least $2,000 a year, the fastest payback is at California State University-Los Angeles (CA): 0.15 years, from a $2,385 average net price and $62,555 median earnings.
Fastest and slowest median paybacks
Fastest
- New Mexico
- 0.61 years
- West Virginia
- 0.96 years
- California
- 1.01 years
- Utah
- 1.01 years
- Hawaii
- 1.03 years
Slowest
- Rhode Island
- 1.97 years
- Connecticut
- 1.66 years
- Vermont
- 1.65 years
- Montana
- 1.58 years
- North Carolina
- 1.54 years
Every state
Select a column heading to sort. Each figure is the median across a state's colleges; the payback is the median of each college's own payback.
Years of earnings to cover four years of college, by state, 2026–27
Median years of earnings to cover four years of net price
- 0.6 yrs–1.1 yrs
- 1.1 yrs–1.2 yrs
- 1.2 yrs–1.3 yrs
- 1.3 yrs–1.4 yrs
- 1.4 yrs–2.0 yrs
- Not reported
Source: CollegesRef analysis of U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data. Hover or tab to a state for details; select it to open its colleges.
| New Mexico7 public · 0 private | 7 | 0.61 years | $6,328 | $44,198 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia12 public · 5 private | 17 | 0.96 years | $11,350 | $49,503 |
| California32 public · 43 private | 75 | 1.01 years | $22,597 | $73,299 |
| Utah6 public · 2 private | 8 | 1.01 years | $15,478 | $60,139 |
| Hawaii3 public · 3 private | 6 | 1.03 years | $14,365 | $57,213 |
| Idaho4 public · 3 private | 7 | 1.05 years | $15,321 | $57,623 |
| North Dakota6 public · 2 private | 8 | 1.05 years | $14,856 | $58,798 |
| Maine7 public · 8 private | 15 | 1.11 years | $19,835 | $57,989 |
| Maryland11 public · 9 private | 20 | 1.13 years | $18,276 | $67,501 |
| Louisiana14 public · 5 private | 19 | 1.13 years | $13,357 | $49,742 |
| Oklahoma14 public · 8 private | 22 | 1.14 years | $15,405 | $50,230 |
| Texas34 public · 38 private | 72 | 1.17 years | $16,577 | $57,088 |
| Georgia24 public · 23 private | 47 | 1.17 years | $16,111 | $51,903 |
| Michigan15 public · 21 private | 36 | 1.17 years | $17,351 | $59,877 |
| Arizona4 public · 3 private | 7 | 1.17 years | $17,265 | $67,414 |
| Illinois12 public · 34 private | 46 | 1.17 years | $17,721 | $61,534 |
| Florida28 public · 28 private | 56 | 1.20 years | $13,404 | $52,156 |
| New Jersey12 public · 13 private | 25 | 1.20 years | $18,533 | $64,432 |
| Colorado13 public · 4 private | 17 | 1.22 years | $18,133 | $58,700 |
| New York40 public · 65 private | 105 | 1.22 years | $21,959 | $68,324 |
| Kentucky6 public · 14 private | 20 | 1.23 years | $17,863 | $51,552 |
| Indiana13 public · 27 private | 40 | 1.27 years | $18,881 | $58,361 |
| Nebraska6 public · 7 private | 13 | 1.30 years | $17,891 | $57,009 |
| Missouri13 public · 22 private | 35 | 1.31 years | $19,119 | $52,791 |
| Minnesota11 public · 20 private | 31 | 1.34 years | $22,280 | $64,996 |
| Oregon7 public · 9 private | 16 | 1.35 years | $23,715 | $63,482 |
| Arkansas10 public · 7 private | 17 | 1.37 years | $16,882 | $47,220 |
| Wisconsin13 public · 18 private | 31 | 1.39 years | $20,293 | $59,707 |
| Tennessee9 public · 26 private | 35 | 1.39 years | $18,314 | $52,901 |
| Alabama13 public · 10 private | 23 | 1.42 years | $18,255 | $50,557 |
| Washington14 public · 11 private | 25 | 1.43 years | $21,037 | $65,578 |
| Mississippi8 public · 5 private | 13 | 1.44 years | $18,078 | $47,355 |
| Ohio23 public · 37 private | 60 | 1.45 years | $20,710 | $57,717 |
| Massachusetts12 public · 43 private | 55 | 1.46 years | $26,309 | $69,936 |
| Virginia15 public · 23 private | 38 | 1.46 years | $22,930 | $59,023 |
| New Hampshire4 public · 7 private | 11 | 1.46 years | $26,016 | $64,588 |
| South Carolina12 public · 17 private | 29 | 1.47 years | $19,826 | $51,191 |
| South Dakota6 public · 4 private | 10 | 1.48 years | $20,691 | $58,037 |
| Pennsylvania15 public · 68 private | 83 | 1.49 years | $24,806 | $66,391 |
| Kansas7 public · 13 private | 20 | 1.50 years | $23,231 | $56,855 |
| Iowa2 public · 22 private | 24 | 1.52 years | $23,142 | $58,810 |
| District of Columbia1 public · 7 private | 8 | 1.54 years | $32,773 | $75,495 |
| North Carolina15 public · 31 private | 46 | 1.54 years | $20,380 | $53,473 |
| Montana6 public · 3 private | 9 | 1.58 years | $21,302 | $52,907 |
| Vermont2 public · 5 private | 7 | 1.65 years | $29,915 | $66,136 |
| Connecticut6 public · 13 private | 19 | 1.66 years | $28,356 | $67,897 |
| Rhode Island2 public · 8 private | 10 | 1.97 years | $37,087 | $73,388 |
| All reported colleges | 1,355 | 1.31 years | $19,916 | $59,737 |
Too few colleges to report (fewer than 5): Alaska (3), Delaware (4), Nevada (4), Wyoming (1).
College by college
Fastest paybacks
The colleges where four years of average net price buy the fewest years of their former students' earnings.
| California State University-Los AngelesCalifornia · Public | $2,385 | $62,555 | 0.15 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| CUNY New York City College of TechnologyNew York · Public | $2,818 | $57,019 | 0.20 years |
| California Institute of Technology CalTechCalifornia · Private nonprofit | $8,509 | $166,642 | 0.20 years |
| Dalton State CollegeGeorgia · Public | $2,353 | $46,083 | 0.20 years |
| College of Staten Island CUNYNew York · Public | $3,153 | $59,992 | 0.21 years |
| California State University-StanislausCalifornia · Public | $3,565 | $65,560 | 0.22 years |
| Princeton UniversityNew Jersey · Private nonprofit | $7,815 | $133,523 | 0.23 years |
| Indian River State CollegeFlorida · Public | $2,617 | $43,542 | 0.24 years |
| California State University-San BernardinoCalifornia · Public | $3,946 | $61,951 | 0.25 years |
| CUNY Medgar Evers CollegeNew York · Public | $3,245 | $49,242 | 0.26 years |
| California State University-BakersfieldCalifornia · Public | $4,001 | $62,381 | 0.26 years |
| CUNY Graduate School and University CenterNew York · Public | $4,766 | $69,504 | 0.27 years |
| Atlanta Metropolitan State CollegeGeorgia · Public | $2,757 | $37,585 | 0.29 years |
| California State University-FullertonCalifornia · Public | $5,115 | $69,015 | 0.30 years |
| Texas A&M University-Central TexasTexas · Public | $4,107 | $55,645 | 0.30 years |
| University of FloridaFlorida · Public | $5,969 | $78,456 | 0.30 years |
| Farmingdale State CollegeNew York · Public | $6,146 | $75,278 | 0.33 years |
| Seminole State College of FloridaFlorida · Public | $3,904 | $47,074 | 0.33 years |
| The University of Texas of the Permian BasinTexas · Public | $5,070 | $61,557 | 0.33 years |
| Northwest Florida State CollegeFlorida · Public | $3,738 | $43,741 | 0.34 years |
Colleges with an average net price under $2,000 a year are left out of this ranking because tiny costs make payback figures misleading; they still count in every state and national figure on this page and in the CSV.
Slowest paybacks
The colleges where four years of average net price take the most years of earnings to match.
| Beacon CollegeFlorida · Private nonprofit | $55,698 | $28,501 | 7.82 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Institute of the ArtsCalifornia · Private nonprofit | $49,996 | $45,380 | 4.41 years |
| Berklee College of MusicMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | $47,587 | $43,451 | 4.38 years |
| University of DallasTexas · Private nonprofit | $68,064 | $64,930 | 4.19 years |
| Savannah College of Art and DesignGeorgia · Private nonprofit | $50,165 | $51,635 | 3.89 years |
| Clark Atlanta UniversityGeorgia · Private nonprofit | $38,626 | $46,867 | 3.30 years |
| Fisk UniversityTennessee · Private nonprofit | $37,143 | $45,614 | 3.26 years |
| Jackson State University-MississippiMississippi · Public | $34,119 | $42,075 | 3.24 years |
| Columbia College ChicagoIllinois · Private nonprofit | $36,529 | $48,427 | 3.02 years |
| The New SchoolNew York · Private nonprofit | $48,163 | $64,471 | 2.99 years |
| Lynn UniversityFlorida · Private nonprofit | $43,806 | $58,891 | 2.98 years |
| Emerson CollegeMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | $49,215 | $67,317 | 2.92 years |
| Rhode Island School of Design RISDRhode Island · Private nonprofit | $50,513 | $69,341 | 2.91 years |
| Eckerd CollegeFlorida · Private nonprofit | $42,037 | $57,875 | 2.91 years |
| Florida Institute of TechnologyFlorida · Private nonprofit | $36,511 | $50,557 | 2.89 years |
| Keiser University-Ft LauderdaleFlorida · Private nonprofit | $32,640 | $46,472 | 2.81 years |
| Spelman CollegeGeorgia · Private nonprofit | $46,089 | $65,773 | 2.80 years |
| Tuskegee UniversityAlabama · Private nonprofit | $40,141 | $57,833 | 2.78 years |
| Tiffin UniversityOhio · Private nonprofit | $26,131 | $37,551 | 2.78 years |
| Southeastern UniversityFlorida · Private nonprofit | $34,297 | $49,323 | 2.78 years |
Methodology
- Colleges counted
- Every college published on CollegesRef that is public or private nonprofit, in a four-year Carnegie class (doctoral, master's or baccalaureate), in the 50 states or D.C., with at least 500 undergraduates and both figures reported in the College Scorecard.
- Exclusions
- For-profit colleges, two-year colleges, special-focus institutions, colleges with fewer undergraduates than the minimum, U.S. territories and colleges missing either figure are left out. Earnings figures without a federal reporting year are excluded.
- Reporting threshold
- A state is reported only when at least 5 colleges qualify; states below it are listed under the table and still count in the national figures.
- Payback
- Four times the college's average net price (College Scorecard NPT4: cost of attendance minus average grants for aided first-time, full-time students) divided by its former students' median earnings ten years after entry (MD_EARN_WNE_P10).
- What it leaves out
- Earnings are before tax and living costs, are for students who received federal aid, and are not specific to a major. Students who take longer than four years, borrow, or pay a different net price will see a different payback.
- Medians
- Each state figure is the median across its colleges, not weighted by enrollment. The median payback is the median of each college's own ratio.
Read the CollegesRef methodology for how college data is checked, or browse all data stories.
Sources
- Data
- U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports these figures from the IPEDS surveys and federal student aid records; Carnegie classes from IPEDS.
- Edition
- 2026–27, data verified Nov 2026
- Source reporting year
- 2025
- Snapshot
- November 15, 2026
- Licence
- Federal data is a U.S. government work in the public domain. Please credit CollegesRef for this analysis.
- Downloads
- CSVMarkdown (for AI tools)
Frequently asked questions
Short answers about how the numbers work.
How is the payback time calculated?
For each college, four years at the average net price are divided by the median earnings of its former students ten years after they enrolled. At the median of 1,355 colleges the result is 1.31 years.
Does a shorter payback mean a better college?
Not on its own. It compares price with typical earnings, which depend heavily on the majors a college offers and where its graduates live. Use it with graduation rates and the earnings for the major you plan to study.
Why is my state missing from the map?
A state needs at least 5 qualifying colleges to be reported. Alaska, Delaware, Nevada, Wyoming fell below that line; their colleges still count in the national figures.
Related guides and tools
Step-by-step explanations of the figures, written from the same federal data.
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