Data story · 8 of 9
What low-income students pay against what graduates earn, by state
Four years at the net price aided students from families earning under $30,000 pay, set against what the college's former students earn ten years after they enrolled. The lower the number, the faster a degree pays off for a low-income student.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard and IPEDS, reporting year 2025 · 1,338 colleges · Updated November 15, 2026
Median payback
1.01 years
For families earning under $30,000; 1.32 years at the average net price for all aided students.
College Scorecard, data year 2025
Key findings
- Median low-income net price
- $15,411
- A year, after grants, for aided students from families earning $0–$30,000.
- Median earnings
- $59,656
- Former students' median earnings ten years after they enrolled.
- Under half a year
- 174
- Colleges where four years cost less than half a year of earnings (13%).
For students from families earning under $30,000, four years at the median of 1,338 four-year colleges cost 1.01 years of former students' median earnings ($15,411 a year against $59,656), against 1.32 years at the average net price for all aided students.
Maryland is the fastest at 0.60 years (median low-income net price $9,448); Rhode Island is the slowest at 1.35 years ($27,300).
174 colleges (13%) cost low-income students less over four years than half a year of their graduates' earnings; 682 colleges (51%) take more than a full year.
The fastest is Brown University (RI): a $39 average net price for this income band and $99,974 median earnings.
Fastest and slowest low-income paybacks
Fastest
- Maryland
- 0.60 years
- New Mexico
- 0.61 years
- California
- 0.73 years
- North Dakota
- 0.74 years
- Colorado
- 0.75 years
Slowest
- Rhode Island
- 1.35 years
- North Carolina
- 1.35 years
- South Carolina
- 1.35 years
- Mississippi
- 1.32 years
- Kansas
- 1.31 years
Every state
Darker states have higher figures; select a state to open its colleges. The table below ranks every state.
Years of earnings to cover four years of college for families earning under $30,000, by state, 2026–27
Median years of earnings to cover four years of net price, families earning under $30,000
- 0.6 yrs–0.9 yrs
- 0.9 yrs–1.0 yrs
- 1.0 yrs–1.2 yrs
- 1.2 yrs–1.4 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.
State by state
Select a column heading to sort. Each figure is the median across a state's colleges.
| Maryland11 public · 9 private | 20 | 0.60 years | $9,448 | $67,501 | 1.13 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico7 public · 0 private | 7 | 0.61 years | $6,282 | $44,198 | 0.61 years |
| California32 public · 43 private | 75 | 0.73 years | $16,090 | $73,299 | 1.01 years |
| North Dakota6 public · 2 private | 8 | 0.74 years | $11,704 | $58,798 | 1.05 years |
| Colorado13 public · 4 private | 17 | 0.75 years | $12,291 | $58,700 | 1.22 years |
| Maine7 public · 8 private | 15 | 0.76 years | $13,222 | $57,989 | 1.11 years |
| New Jersey12 public · 12 private | 24 | 0.79 years | $13,081 | $64,139 | 1.22 years |
| Michigan14 public · 21 private | 35 | 0.85 years | $12,444 | $59,874 | 1.20 years |
| New York33 public · 65 private | 98 | 0.90 years | $15,355 | $68,822 | 1.27 years |
| Minnesota11 public · 20 private | 31 | 0.90 years | $13,671 | $64,996 | 1.34 years |
| Idaho4 public · 3 private | 7 | 0.90 years | $13,022 | $57,623 | 1.05 years |
| Wisconsin13 public · 18 private | 31 | 0.91 years | $14,155 | $59,707 | 1.39 years |
| Illinois12 public · 34 private | 46 | 0.94 years | $15,363 | $61,534 | 1.17 years |
| Hawaii3 public · 3 private | 6 | 0.94 years | $12,942 | $57,213 | 1.03 years |
| Kentucky6 public · 14 private | 20 | 0.95 years | $13,166 | $51,552 | 1.23 years |
| Utah6 public · 2 private | 8 | 0.95 years | $14,086 | $60,139 | 1.01 years |
| West Virginia11 public · 5 private | 16 | 0.96 years | $12,058 | $49,588 | 0.96 years |
| Florida27 public · 28 private | 55 | 0.97 years | $12,635 | $52,207 | 1.23 years |
| Texas33 public · 38 private | 71 | 0.99 years | $13,431 | $57,299 | 1.17 years |
| Indiana13 public · 27 private | 40 | 0.99 years | $14,173 | $58,361 | 1.27 years |
| Oregon7 public · 9 private | 16 | 0.99 years | $16,828 | $63,482 | 1.35 years |
| Louisiana14 public · 5 private | 19 | 1.00 years | $12,760 | $49,742 | 1.13 years |
| Washington14 public · 11 private | 25 | 1.01 years | $16,017 | $65,578 | 1.43 years |
| Oklahoma14 public · 8 private | 22 | 1.01 years | $13,164 | $50,230 | 1.14 years |
| Massachusetts12 public · 41 private | 53 | 1.04 years | $19,035 | $69,534 | 1.47 years |
| Ohio23 public · 37 private | 60 | 1.04 years | $15,957 | $57,717 | 1.45 years |
| Nebraska6 public · 7 private | 13 | 1.05 years | $15,830 | $57,009 | 1.30 years |
| District of Columbia1 public · 7 private | 8 | 1.07 years | $22,606 | $75,495 | 1.54 years |
| Georgia24 public · 23 private | 47 | 1.08 years | $13,800 | $51,903 | 1.17 years |
| Pennsylvania15 public · 67 private | 82 | 1.10 years | $18,443 | $66,213 | 1.50 years |
| New Hampshire4 public · 7 private | 11 | 1.12 years | $18,960 | $64,588 | 1.46 years |
| Virginia15 public · 23 private | 38 | 1.17 years | $17,123 | $59,023 | 1.46 years |
| Tennessee9 public · 26 private | 35 | 1.18 years | $16,616 | $52,901 | 1.39 years |
| Missouri13 public · 22 private | 35 | 1.19 years | $14,619 | $52,791 | 1.31 years |
| Alabama13 public · 9 private | 22 | 1.21 years | $17,173 | $50,781 | 1.42 years |
| Connecticut6 public · 13 private | 19 | 1.21 years | $18,148 | $67,897 | 1.66 years |
| Vermont2 public · 5 private | 7 | 1.21 years | $19,770 | $66,136 | 1.65 years |
| Arizona3 public · 3 private | 6 | 1.22 years | $24,342 | $63,656 | 1.42 years |
| Arkansas10 public · 7 private | 17 | 1.23 years | $15,497 | $47,220 | 1.37 years |
| South Dakota6 public · 4 private | 10 | 1.24 years | $17,375 | $58,037 | 1.48 years |
| Montana6 public · 3 private | 9 | 1.24 years | $16,920 | $52,907 | 1.58 years |
| Iowa2 public · 22 private | 24 | 1.29 years | $19,107 | $58,810 | 1.52 years |
| Kansas7 public · 13 private | 20 | 1.31 years | $19,879 | $56,855 | 1.50 years |
| Mississippi8 public · 5 private | 13 | 1.32 years | $14,602 | $47,355 | 1.44 years |
| South Carolina12 public · 17 private | 29 | 1.35 years | $16,910 | $51,191 | 1.47 years |
| North Carolina15 public · 31 private | 46 | 1.35 years | $17,462 | $53,473 | 1.54 years |
| Rhode Island2 public · 8 private | 10 | 1.35 years | $27,300 | $73,388 | 1.97 years |
| All reported colleges | 1,338 | 1.01 years | $15,411 | $59,656 | 1.32 years |
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Too few colleges to report (fewer than 5): Alaska (3), Delaware (4), Nevada (4), Wyoming (1).
College by college
Fastest for low-income students
Four years at the $0–$30,000 net price buy the fewest years of graduates' earnings here.
| Brown UniversityRhode Island · Private nonprofit | $39 | $99,974 | 0.00 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington and Lee UniversityVirginia · Private nonprofit | $28 | $102,966 | 0.00 years |
| CUNY York CollegeNew York · Public | $364 | $62,351 | 0.02 years |
| University of ChicagoIllinois · Private nonprofit | $394 | $103,872 | 0.02 years |
| Farmingdale State CollegeNew York · Public | $649 | $75,278 | 0.03 years |
| Stanford UniversityCalifornia · Private nonprofit | $1,067 | $125,340 | 0.03 years |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Main CampusIllinois · Public | $871 | $87,599 | 0.04 years |
| Yale UniversityConnecticut · Private nonprofit | $1,256 | $118,356 | 0.04 years |
| Dartmouth CollegeNew Hampshire · Private nonprofit | $1,399 | $111,162 | 0.05 years |
| Northwestern University-IllinoisIllinois · Private nonprofit | $1,427 | $104,255 | 0.05 years |
| United States Merchant Marine AcademyNew York · Public | $1,410 | $103,283 | 0.05 years |
| University of Maryland-College Park Main CampusMaryland · Public | $1,141 | $89,228 | 0.05 years |
| Chipola CollegeFlorida · Public | $599 | $42,998 | 0.06 years |
| Johns Hopkins UniversityMaryland · Private nonprofit | $1,772 | $104,590 | 0.07 years |
| Bates CollegeMaine · Private nonprofit | $1,899 | $98,373 | 0.08 years |
| Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York · Private nonprofit | $2,275 | $109,430 | 0.08 years |
| Harvard UniversityMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | $2,542 | $121,957 | 0.08 years |
| California State University-Los AngelesCalifornia · Public | $1,364 | $62,555 | 0.09 years |
| University of Minnesota-MorrisMinnesota · Public | $1,259 | $55,010 | 0.09 years |
| Amherst CollegeMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | $2,424 | $95,161 | 0.10 years |
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Slowest for low-income students
Four years at the $0–$30,000 net price take the most years of graduates' earnings to match.
| Beacon CollegeFlorida · Private nonprofit | $51,336 | $28,501 | 7.20 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of DallasTexas · Private nonprofit | $67,916 | $64,930 | 4.18 years |
| Berklee College of MusicMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | $42,991 | $43,451 | 3.96 years |
| California Institute of the ArtsCalifornia · Private nonprofit | $42,456 | $45,380 | 3.74 years |
| Savannah College of Art and DesignGeorgia · Private nonprofit | $46,639 | $51,635 | 3.61 years |
| Clark Atlanta UniversityGeorgia · Private nonprofit | $38,601 | $46,867 | 3.29 years |
| Jackson State University-MississippiMississippi · Public | $34,073 | $42,075 | 3.24 years |
| Fisk UniversityTennessee · Private nonprofit | $36,962 | $45,614 | 3.24 years |
| Emerson CollegeMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | $49,140 | $67,317 | 2.92 years |
| Trevecca Nazarene UniversityTennessee · Private nonprofit | $39,828 | $56,862 | 2.80 years |
| Tuskegee UniversityAlabama · Private nonprofit | $40,091 | $57,833 | 2.77 years |
| Lynn UniversityFlorida · Private nonprofit | $40,275 | $58,891 | 2.74 years |
| Keiser University-Ft LauderdaleFlorida · Private nonprofit | $31,719 | $46,472 | 2.73 years |
| Florida Institute of TechnologyFlorida · Private nonprofit | $33,642 | $50,557 | 2.66 years |
| Columbia College ChicagoIllinois · Private nonprofit | $32,185 | $48,427 | 2.66 years |
| Huston-Tillotson UniversityTexas · Private nonprofit | $30,876 | $46,645 | 2.65 years |
| Life UniversityGeorgia · Private nonprofit | $31,443 | $48,303 | 2.60 years |
| Webber International UniversityFlorida · Private nonprofit | $33,445 | $51,590 | 2.59 years |
| Virginia Union UniversityVirginia · Private nonprofit | $28,736 | $44,816 | 2.56 years |
| Southern New Hampshire UniversityNew Hampshire · Private nonprofit | $36,355 | $56,870 | 2.56 years |
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Use this for your family
These are medians. Your price and payback depend on your income, your state and the college, so run the numbers for the colleges on your list.
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.
4 more notes: reporting threshold, payback, what it leaves out, medians
- 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 average net price for aided first-time, full-time students from families earning $0–$30,000 (College Scorecard NPT41) divided by former students' median earnings ten years after entry (MD_EARN_WNE_P10). The all-income payback uses the overall average net price (NPT4) for comparison.
- What it leaves out
- Earnings cover all federally aided former students, not only low-income ones, and are before tax. Students who need more than four years, or whose aid changes after the first year, will see a different payback.
- Medians
- Each state figure is the median across its colleges, not weighted by enrollment.
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 low-income payback calculated?
For each college, four years at the net price for families earning under $30,000 are divided by its former students' median earnings ten years after they enrolled. At the median of 1,338 colleges the result is 1.01 years.
Why is it lower than the all-income payback?
Federal Pell Grants, state grants and college aid cut the price most for the lowest-income families, so their net price is usually below the average for all aided students while the earnings figure is the same.
Will a low-income student pay this price?
It is an average for aided students in that income band. Your price depends on your family's finances and the college's aid rules; check each college's net price calculator.
Cite and embed
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Related guides and tools
Step-by-step explanations of the figures, written from the same federal data.