Attending leading universities in the United States can yield a return on investment ranging from 999% to 2371% over a ten-year period.
In the top 10, Georgia Institute of Technology (999%), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1067%), California Institute of Technology (1130%), Stanford University (1250%), the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (1565%), and Princeton University (2371%) demonstrate some of the highest ten-year returns on investment, as reported in the 2026 American College ROI Index by the U.S. Career Institute.
The University of Maryland Global Campus, a founding partner of Career Communications Group's upcoming workforce conference, AI NEXTGEN America, is ranked 363rd. Annual tuition is $8,136, amounting to $88,252 over four years. Graduates report an average annual salary of $65,287 and a 79% return on investment over ten years.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore is ranked 159th, with an annual cost of $13,256 and a total of $65,868 over four years. Graduates earn an average of $69,960 per year, with a 211% return on investment over ten years.
Bowie State University, Maryland's oldest historically Black college and university, is ranked 764th, with annual tuition of $9,218 and a four-year true cost of $77,192. Graduates earn a median salary of $54,537, resulting in a return on investment of -35%.
Morehouse College, ranked 972nd, has a one-year tuition of $32,893 and a four-year true cost estimated at $156,052. Graduates earn a median salary of $52,889. The ten-year return on investment is -78%.
Delaware State University, ranked 1062nd, has a one-year tuition of $10,670, totaling $55,640 over four years. Graduates earn a median salary of $49,307, with a ten-year return on investment of -104%.
Clark Atlanta University, ranked 1223rd, costs $28,310 per year, totaling $150,808 over four years. Graduates earn an average annual salary of $42,712, and the ten-year return on investment is -145%.
Coppin State University, ranked 1325th, has an annual cost of $7,100, totaling $39,908 over four years. Graduates earn a mean salary of $46,490, and the ten-year return on investment is -175%.
Among historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with ABET-accredited engineering programs:
- Tuskegee University (ranked at 1038th) has an annual cost of $25,386, totaling $140,052 over four years. Graduates earn an average annual salary of $49,641, resulting in a ten-year return on investment of -99%.
- Virginia State University, ranked 1275th, costs $10,043 annually, totaling $63,360 over four years. Graduates earn a median salary of $45,543, and the ten-year return on investment is -163%.
- Prairie View A&M University, ranked 1324th, costs $11,299 per year, or $54,280 over four years. Its graduates earn an average salary of $45,411, with a ten-year return on investment of -175%.
- Southern University and A&M College, ranked 1327th, has an annual cost of $9,922, totaling $80,308 over four years. Graduates earn an average annual salary of $43,371, and the ten-year return on investment is -176%.
- Norfolk State University, ranked 1340th, has an annual cost of $10,180, totaling $61,128 over four years. Graduates earn a mean salary of $44,666, and the ten-year return on investment is -179%.
- Tennessee State University, ranked 1415th, costs $8,616 per year, or $63,184 over four years. Graduates earn an average salary of $42,730, with a ten-year return on investment of -207%.
- Jackson State University, ranked 1417th, costs $8,965 per year, totaling $95,344 over four years. Graduates earn an average salary of $39,060, with a ten-year return on investment of -210%.
- North Carolina A&T State University, ranked 1445th, costs $6,813 per year, totaling $43,384 over four years. Graduates earn a mean salary of $44,440, and the ten-year return on investment is -217%.
- Alabama A&M University is ranked 1459th, and has an annual cost of $10,024, totaling $70,484 over four years. Graduates earn an average salary of $40,628, and the ten-year return on investment is -226%.
The American College ROI Index, developed through research commissioned by the U.S. Career Institute, estimates the long-term financial return associated with earning a bachelor's degree.
To more accurately assess the true cost (defined as the estimated four-year net cost) and ten-year ROI across American colleges and universities, the U.S. Career Institute analyzed thousands of federal data points to determine the estimated financial outcome of a four-year bachelor's degree.
These institutions achieved some of the highest ten-year ROI rankings according to the U.S. Career Institute's proprietary calculation, which utilizes publicly available federal data on educational costs and graduate earnings.
The U.S. Career Institute collected data from three primary federal databases: the most recent institution-level data cohort for the 2022–2023 academic year, ten-year earnings cohorts measured in 2020 and 2021 (adjusted for inflation), the institutional characteristics survey cohort for the 2023–2024 academic year, and median weekly earnings by educational attainment data (Q1 2025), which establishes the baseline earnings of a standard high school graduate. The one-year tuition and fees refer to the published sticker price for one year of in-state tuition and mandatory fees.
The four-year true cost, which includes room and board, represents the average net price paid by a student over four years.
The ten-year median salary refers to the median annual earnings of federally aided students ten years after their initial enrollment.
The difference between an institution's ten-year median salary and the $49,500 baseline salary is calculated to assess financial outcomes.
The primary ranking metric is the decade-long percentage return on the four-year true cost.
Additional metrics include the time required to recoup the four-year true cost using only the financial premium, the percentage of applicants admitted, and the percentage of first-time, full-time students who complete their bachelor's degree within six years.