Is Carleton College Worth It? The ROI Data on Carleton (2026)

Carleton College is a small liberal arts college of 2,086 undergraduates in Northfield, Minnesota — a rural setting about 35 miles south of the Twin Cities. It is not a school people stumble into; students choose Carleton specifically for its academic culture, its math and science depth, and its sustained position among the top liberal arts colleges in the country. The question this post answers is whether that choice holds up on the financial data.

The short version: Carleton scores 84/100 (Strong Value) on CampusROI's scale. That is a solid result — well above average — but below the Exceptional Value tier occupied by Williams and Colby. The 6-year earnings number requires context before you draw conclusions from it. And a data completeness caveat applies to the repayment sub-score. Here is the full picture.

The Carleton College CampusROI profile shows each program's debt-to-earnings grade and earnings figures in detail.

Carleton by the Numbers

The 6-year median earnings of $43,400 is the number that will alarm anyone doing quick comparison shopping against larger universities. It needs immediate explanation.

Why the 6-Year Earnings Figure Is Misleading

Carleton consistently ranks near the top among all liberal arts colleges for the percentage of graduates who go on to earn PhDs. The College Scorecard measures earnings six years after enrollment — which, for a student who graduated at four years and immediately entered a five-year PhD program, means the data captures them at roughly year one or two of that program. Graduate students earn stipends, not salaries. They appear in the earnings data at $20,000-$30,000, dragging the school median down significantly.

The 10-year earnings figure of $75,525 begins to capture graduates who have completed or are well advanced in professional and graduate programs. Biology graduates, international relations majors, and psychology graduates at Carleton are disproportionately on this path — their 6-year earnings are low not because Carleton failed them, but because they are mid-program at the measurement point.

This does not mean Carleton's 6-year earnings are irrelevant. If you are not planning to attend graduate school, and you want to enter the workforce directly after graduation, the six-year median reflects more of the peer group you will be in. CS and economics graduates — the two programs with the strongest direct-employment pipelines at Carleton — show much stronger early earnings, as described below.

The Cost Reality

Carleton's sticker tuition is $68,892 per year. What families actually pay varies significantly by income:

For families earning under $48,000, Carleton's net price is competitive with many public flagships. Carleton meets full demonstrated financial need. The low-income brackets are genuinely affordable for a school at this academic level — below Vassar at similar income points, and below Middlebury.

High-income families (above $110,000) pay an average of $44,082 per year — roughly $176,000 over four years. That is below Williams ($49,594) and Middlebury ($49,824) at the same income level. For high-income families choosing among top LACs, Carleton is the more affordable option.

The data completeness note matters here: Carleton's overall data completeness is 0.8 (not 1.0). The College Scorecard repayment rate is imputed for Carleton due to a small reported sample, which reduces confidence in that sub-score specifically. The cost and earnings figures are from observed data and are not imputed.

What Graduates Earn — By Major

The school-wide earnings figure tells you less than the program-specific numbers:

Source: College Scorecard, data vintage 2024–2025.

CS at Carleton produces 80 graduates per year — the largest tracked program — with one-year earnings of $88,132 and a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.207 (ROI grade A). For a liberal arts college of 2,086 students, that is a substantial CS presence, and it reflects Carleton's genuine investment in technical faculty and infrastructure. One-year CS earnings of $88,132 are above Vassar's CS figures and approach Middlebury's, though they fall below Williams ($110,814).

Economics graduates 37 students per year at $66,567 at one year and $87,193 at four years (ROI grade B+). The four-year trajectory is meaningful — Carleton economics graduates who enter finance or consulting reach reasonable senior analyst or associate earnings at that mark.

Biology is the critical caveat. Sixty-five graduates per year at $30,726 one-year earnings (ROI grade C). This reflects the graduate-school routing pattern: a large share of Carleton biology graduates are in PhD or MD programs at the one-year mark. The C grade is a Scorecard artifact of that routing, not a signal that Carleton biology graduates are underemployed at mid-career.

English Language & Literature earns an F grade with one-year earnings of $20,780 against debt of $21,167. Humanities graduates at Carleton who plan to enter the workforce directly after graduation face a genuine, not imagined, financial headwind in the first several years.

Peer Comparison

Where Carleton sits among comparable liberal arts colleges:

Carleton's ROI score of 84 places it below the top-tier LACs but meaningfully above Macalester (64), a Minnesota peer. Grinnell at ROI 83 and $17,648 net price offers a lower-cost alternative with comparable academic rigor. Williams posts a 96 and a lower net price — but admits 8.25% of applicants versus Carleton's 20.4%. For students at the lower end of top-LAC competitiveness who cannot gain Williams admission, Carleton is the realistic alternative in the same academic culture.

For a peer LAC comparison from a different angle, see our post on Is Williams Worth It? and for a research university alternative in the Midwest, Is Northwestern Worth It?.

The Repayment Rate Caveat

The 5-year repayment rate of 92.8% looks strong. But this figure is not directly observed in Carleton's College Scorecard data — it is imputed due to a small reported sample. The CampusROI repayment sub-score of 50/100 reflects that uncertainty. The 5-year and 7-year repayment rates in the data (92.8% and 93.1% respectively) are directionally consistent with a school whose graduates have low debt and strong eventual earnings, but they should be treated as estimates rather than precisely observed statistics.

The Verdict

Carleton scores 84/100 — Strong Value. The financial case holds clearly for CS and economics students who plan to enter the workforce directly after graduation. The case holds for nearly all income brackets among students who plan graduate school, because the low debt burden ($16,750 median) and strong academic preparation make graduate school economics work.

Carleton is worth it if: - You are interested in CS or quantitative economics and want a liberal arts environment rather than a research university. The one-year earnings justify the cost clearly. - You are planning graduate school in the sciences, social sciences, or humanities. Carleton's PhD placement rates are well above peer LACs, and the low debt burden means you enter graduate programs in good financial shape. - Your family earns under $75,000. Net prices in the $7,900–$9,700 range make Carleton accessible at a level few private colleges match. - You specifically want the Carleton academic culture — small, rural, intensely intellectual — and have weighed the location explicitly.

Think harder if: - You plan to major in humanities and want to enter the workforce directly at graduation. The earnings data at year one is genuinely weak for English and related programs, and you should model that out honestly. - You are a high-income family ($110,000+) comparing Carleton to Williams or Amherst. Williams' net price is actually lower at that bracket ($49,594 vs. $44,082 — an $18k gap that narrows from the other direction) and Williams' ROI score is higher. - You want an urban campus. Northfield, Minnesota is genuinely rural. This is not a drawback for everyone, but it does affect internship access during the academic year in ways that urban LACs do not.

All data from College Scorecard, data vintage 2024–2025. Net prices are averages — individual aid packages vary. Repayment rate figure is imputed for Carleton due to small sample; treat with appropriate uncertainty.