The 50 Colleges With the Best Earnings-to-Cost Ratio
Which schools actually deliver the most earnings per dollar you pay? GradFax computed the ratio of median earnings 10 years after enrollment to average annual net price. This metric combines two federal datasets in a way you will not find anywhere else.
Source: IPEDS (net price) + U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (earnings). Data: 2024 release. Published: May 2026.
How This Ratio Works
Earnings-to-Cost Ratio = Median earnings 10 years after enrollment divided by average annual net price paid (including tuition, fees, room, board, and books, after all grant aid). A ratio of 4.0x means students earn $4 for every $1 they paid per year of attendance. Higher is better. This metric rewards schools that combine low real cost with strong graduate outcomes.
| # | School | Net Cost/yr | Med. Earnings | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland Community CollegeShelby, NC | $57 | $33,755 | 592.2x |
| 2 | Colegio Universitario de San JuanSan Juan, PR | $107 | $26,510 | 247.8x |
| 3 | St Petersburg CollegeSt. Petersburg, FL | $300 | $42,557 | 141.9x |
| 4 | Apollo Career CenterLima, OH | $579 | $43,101 | 74.4x |
| 5 | Traviss Technical CollegeLakeland, FL | $588 | $39,813 | 67.7x |
| 6 | Eastern Gateway Community CollegeSteubenville, OH | $672 | $34,127 | 50.8x |
| 7 | Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico-Recinto de San JuanSan Juan, PR | $625 | $26,293 | 42.1x |
| 8 | Mineral County Vocational Technical CenterKeyser, WV | $1,209 | $46,022 | 38.1x |
| 9 | Lamar State College-OrangeOrange, TX | $1,265 | $36,587 | 28.9x |
| 10 | Mid-America Technology CenterWayne, OK | $1,350 | $38,465 | 28.5x |
| 11 | Vantage Career CenterVan Wert, OH | $1,202 | $33,875 | 28.2x |
| 12 | Green Country Technology CenterOkmulgee, OK | $1,915 | $51,375 | 26.8x |
| 13 | Moraine Valley Community CollegePalos Hills, IL | $1,704 | $43,892 | 25.8x |
| 14 | Oxnard CollegeOxnard, CA | $1,665 | $41,393 | 24.9x |
| 15 | CET-WatsonvilleWatsonville, CA | $1,532 | $32,986 | 21.5x |
| 16 | Fred W Eberle Technical CenterBuckhannon, WV | $2,101 | $43,364 | 20.6x |
| 17 | Florence-Darlington Technical CollegeFlorence, SC | $1,598 | $32,748 | 20.5x |
| 18 | San Diego City CollegeSan Diego, CA | $1,970 | $38,503 | 19.5x |
| 19 | San Diego Miramar CollegeSan Diego, CA | $2,682 | $48,224 | 18.0x |
| 20 | Northeast Alabama Community CollegeRainsville, AL | $1,955 | $34,913 | 17.9x |
| 21 | Cerritos CollegeNorwalk, CA | $2,373 | $41,156 | 17.3x |
| 22 | Southern Regional Technical CollegeThomasville, GA | $1,816 | $31,293 | 17.2x |
| 23 | Middlesex Community CollegeBedford, MA | $2,985 | $50,651 | 17.0x |
| 24 | St Charles Community CollegeCottleville, MO | $2,638 | $42,422 | 16.1x |
| 25 | Georgia Northwestern Technical CollegeRome, GA | $2,310 | $35,759 | 15.5x |
| 26 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical CollegeValdosta, GA | $2,013 | $30,864 | 15.3x |
| 27 | CUNY Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn, NY | $4,105 | $60,752 | 14.8x |
| 28 | Seminole State College of FloridaSanford, FL | $2,889 | $41,733 | 14.4x |
| 29 | CUNY Lehman CollegeBronx, NY | $4,076 | $58,013 | 14.2x |
| 30 | Coastal Pines Technical CollegeWaycross, GA | $2,168 | $30,214 | 13.9x |
| 31 | Bridgerland Technical CollegeLogan, UT | $2,785 | $38,347 | 13.8x |
| 32 | CUNY John Jay College of Criminal JusticeNew York, NY | $4,141 | $56,195 | 13.6x |
| 33 | Ohio University-Eastern CampusSaint Clairsville, OH | $3,897 | $52,581 | 13.5x |
| 34 | North Florida CollegeMadison, FL | $2,592 | $33,929 | 13.1x |
| 35 | Canada CollegeRedwood City, CA | $3,845 | $50,087 | 13.0x |
| 36 | Chipola CollegeMarianna, FL | $2,887 | $37,378 | 12.9x |
| 37 | Lansing Community CollegeLansing, MI | $3,031 | $39,206 | 12.9x |
| 38 | Ventura CollegeVentura, CA | $3,370 | $43,430 | 12.9x |
| 39 | Carl Sandburg CollegeGalesburg, IL | $2,754 | $35,274 | 12.8x |
| 40 | West Georgia Technical CollegeWaco, GA | $2,780 | $35,479 | 12.8x |
| 41 | Fort Scott Community CollegeFort Scott, KS | $2,940 | $37,213 | 12.7x |
| 42 | Texas A & M International UniversityLaredo, TX | $3,833 | $48,386 | 12.6x |
| 43 | Yeshiva Toras ChaimLakewood, NJ | $5,014 | $62,526 | 12.5x |
| 44 | Austin Community College DistrictAustin, TX | $3,502 | $43,177 | 12.3x |
| 45 | Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community CollegeLAnse, MI | $1,840 | $22,340 | 12.1x |
| 46 | Frederick Community CollegeFrederick, MD | $3,840 | $46,449 | 12.1x |
| 47 | Technical College of the RockiesDelta, CO | $3,790 | $45,516 | 12.0x |
| 48 | Orange Technical College-South CampusOrlando, FL | $2,786 | $33,350 | 12.0x |
| 49 | Ner Israel Rabbinical CollegeBaltimore, MD | $5,548 | $66,330 | 12.0x |
| 50 | Luther Rice College & SeminaryLithonia, GA | $3,935 | $47,003 | 11.9x |
Key Findings
- 01Cleveland Community College leads with a ratio of 592.2x -- graduates earn $33,755 annually against a net price of $57 per year.
- 02The median ratio in the top 50 is 15.3x, meaning the typical top-50 school produces annual earnings that are 15.3 times what students paid per year.
- 03Public schools account for 46 of the top 50 positions (92%), demonstrating that subsidized tuition remains a powerful ROI lever even after controlling for grant aid.
- 04This ranking penalizes high-sticker-price schools that offer large grants, because net price is what students actually pay after all aid. Schools with generous aid packages can rank higher than lower-sticker schools that offer little aid.
Methodology
Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which matches federal student aid records to IRS tax records. The figure is median annual earnings of students 10 years after first receiving federal financial aid, restricted to those working rather than enrolled in additional schooling.
Net price data comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System). It represents the institution's average annual net price: tuition, fees, room, board, and books minus all grant and scholarship aid received.
The ratio is computed as: earnings_10yr / avg_net_price_overall. Schools with fewer than 0 in either field are excluded. All data is from the 2024 IPEDS and College Scorecard release.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is this ratio different from a simple ROI calculation?
Most ROI tools compare earnings to tuition sticker price or total cost of attendance. This ratio uses net price -- what students actually paid after grants -- which is a more accurate reflection of real financial burden. A school with $60,000 sticker that gives every student $50,000 in grants has a very different cost profile than it appears.
Why does this list include schools I have never heard of?
High earnings-to-cost schools are not always famous. Specialized vocational and technical schools often have very low net prices and produce graduates in high-demand, well-paying trades. The ratio rewards any school that combines genuine career outcomes with low real cost to students.
Where does the earnings data come from?
The U.S. Department of Education matches student aid records to IRS tax records to produce median earnings by school. This is not self-reported survey data -- it is actual income tax data. The 10-year window means most students have been out of school for several years and are in the workforce.
Can I filter this for 4-year colleges only?
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