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Best Earnings Return per Dollar of Cost

Ten-year median earnings divided by annual cost of attendance. A blunt ratio of two published figures, not a return-on-investment model.

Ranked by earnings per dollar of annual cost · 1,631 of 2,406 institutions report this measure · Compiled 2026-09-01

  1. 1United States Merchant Marine AcademyKings Point, NY · Public9.49×Compare nearby
  2. 2CUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegeNew York, NY · Public5.62×Compare nearby
  3. 3Brazosport CollegeLake Jackson, TX · Public5.45×Compare nearby
  4. 4Skyline CollegeSan Bruno, CA · Public5.32×Compare nearby
  5. 5College of the MainlandTexas City, TX · Public4.95×Compare nearby
  6. 6South Texas CollegeMcAllen, TX · Public4.90×Compare nearby
  7. 7CUNY City CollegeNew York, NY · Public4.89×Compare nearby
  8. 8CUNY Hunter CollegeNew York, NY · Public4.75×Compare nearby
  9. 9Florida State College at JacksonvilleJacksonville, FL · Public4.70×Compare nearby
  10. 10CUNY Queens CollegeQueens, NY · Public4.60×Compare nearby
  11. 11Seminole State College of FloridaSanford, FL · Public4.56×Compare nearby
  12. 12CUNY Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn, NY · Public4.48×Compare nearby
  13. 13Dallas CollegeDallas, TX · Public4.33×Compare nearby
  14. 14CUNY Lehman CollegeBronx, NY · Public4.31×Compare nearby
  15. 15University of Arkansas GranthamLIttle Rock, AR · Public4.30×Compare nearby
  16. 16Chipola CollegeMarianna, FL · Public4.25×Compare nearby
  17. 17Western Governors UniversitySalt Lake City, UT · Private4.19×Compare nearby
  18. 18Colorado State University GlobalAurora, CO · Public4.18×Compare nearby
  19. 19Colegio Universitario de San JuanSan Juan, PR · Public4.17×Compare nearby
  20. 20CUNY York CollegeJamaica, NY · Public4.16×Compare nearby
  21. 21North Central State CollegeMansfield, OH · Public4.11×Compare nearby
  22. 22CUNY John Jay College of Criminal JusticeNew York, NY · Public4.10×Compare nearby
  23. 23Farmingdale State CollegeFarmingdale, NY · Public4.07×Compare nearby
  24. 24South Florida State CollegeAvon Park, FL · Public4.05×Compare nearby
  25. 25St Petersburg CollegeSt. Petersburg, FL · Public4.00×Compare nearby

How this list was built

Measure
Earnings per dollar of annual cost — sorted highest to lowest
Source variable
MD_EARN_WNE_P10 ÷ COSTT4_A
Dataset
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Institution (05-19-2025 release)

A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.

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