By Ryan Mercer · CampusROI Editorial Team
Is Dartmouth Worth It? The ROI Data on Dartmouth College (2026)
Dartmouth costs $84,193/year at sticker price. The average net price after aid is $22,140, and families earning under $75,000 pay between $2,800 and $6,100. Graduates earn $93,280 at 10 years and clear their debt in about 3.6 years.
Dartmouth's sticker price is $84,193 per year. It is the smallest Ivy by enrollment, the only one designated a "college" rather than a "university," and has the most aggressive aid formula for middle-income families of any Ivy after Harvard.
The actual average net price after aid is $22,140 - the lowest average net price in the Ivy League. For families earning under $75,000, net price drops to between $2,800 and $6,100 per year. Graduates earn $93,280 at 10 years and clear their median debt in about 3.6 years.
The full ROI profile for Dartmouth breaks every program down by earnings and grade.
Here's the data.
Dartmouth by the Numbers
| Metric | Dartmouth |
|---|---|
| CampusROI Score | 94/100 - Exceptional Value |
| Tuition (2024-25) | $65,511/year |
| Total 4-year cost (sticker) | $84,193/year attendance |
| Average net price after aid | $22,140/year |
| Median earnings (6 years out) | $82,400 |
| Median earnings (10 years out) | $93,280 |
| Median debt at graduation | $14,900 |
| Monthly loan payment | $158 |
| Debt-to-earnings ratio | 0.160 |
| 6-year completion rate | 96.2% |
| 3-year repayment rate | 88.7% |
| Acceptance rate | 6.0% |
| Payback period | 3.6 years |
The Cost Reality
Dartmouth's net price by family income:
| Family Income | Avg Net Price at Dartmouth |
|---|---|
| $0-$30,000 | $2,847/year |
| $30,001-$48,000 | $3,912/year |
| $48,001-$75,000 | $6,103/year |
| $75,001-$110,000 | $13,418/year |
| $110,001+ | $52,604/year |
Families in the $75K-$110K bracket pay $13,418/year. That's the lowest net price in this income band among the Ivies except for Harvard. Middle-income families tend to fare better at Dartmouth than at Columbia, Penn, or Cornell.
Above $125K, aid tapers. The $52,604 figure for families above $110K reflects the aided and unaided mix within that bracket.
15.8% of Dartmouth undergraduates receive Pell Grants.
What Graduates Earn
Dartmouth grads earn $82,400 six years after enrolling and $93,280 at 10 years. The national bachelor's baseline is $75,000-$80,000 at the same career stage. Dartmouth's premium runs around 17-20%.
Structural drivers:
- The Tuck School of Business is a graduate school, not undergraduate, but its adjacency creates strong consulting and private equity recruiting presence on campus. - The Thayer School of Engineering produces graduates who match peer-Ivy engineering earnings. - Dartmouth's alumni network density is unusual because the school is small (around 4,500 undergraduates) and the alumni are unusually loyal. This produces a higher-than-average rate of on-campus recruiting and alumni-sourced first jobs. - The D-Plan (year-round academic calendar with flexible leave terms) produces more internship experience by graduation than most peer schools. - Heavy feed into medical school, law school, and finance; relatively lighter tech feed than Cornell or MIT.
The 10-year earnings number is depressed somewhat by a strong graduate-school pipeline into medicine and law.
The Debt Picture
Dartmouth's median debt at graduation is $14,900.
- Median debt: $14,900 - Monthly payment (10-year standard): $158 - Debt-to-earnings ratio (10-year): 0.160 - 3-year repayment rate: 88.7%
The 88.7% repayment rate is the highest of any Ivy except Yale and Princeton. Monthly payments of $158 against $93K earnings consume 2.0% of first-year income.
The debt figure sits below Brown, Cornell, and Northwestern because of Dartmouth's Dartmouth Scholarship program, which eliminated loans from the aid package starting in 2022. Students who do borrow tend to take modest federal loans for non-tuition expenses.
Top-Earning Majors
Dartmouth's major earnings distribution:
| Major | Earnings (1yr out) | Earnings (4yr out) | Debt | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | $126,800 | $189,400 | $13,700 | A |
| Economics | $92,300 | $146,200 | $13,100 | A |
| Engineering Sciences | $88,700 | $138,400 | $14,800 | A |
| Mathematics | $84,100 | $132,700 | $12,900 | A |
| Government | $62,400 | $95,800 | $14,300 | A |
| Biology | $47,800 | $78,400 | $17,600 | B |
| History | $48,600 | $74,200 | $15,200 | B+ |
| English | $44,200 | $67,800 | $14,900 | B |
| Psychological and Brain Sciences | $46,500 | $71,300 | $16,800 | B |
| Geography | $54,300 | $84,600 | $15,100 | B+ |
Government graduates (Dartmouth's name for political science) earn $95,800 four years out, significantly above the national political science baseline. The uplift comes from placement into consulting, think tanks, and campaign work, as well as strong pre-law pipeline.
The humanities story is middling: English and History graduates earn in the $65K-$75K range at four years - above the national baseline for those majors, but below what the same degrees produce at Harvard or Yale. The lower net price makes the ROI still work.
Peer Comparison
Against Ivy peers:
- Harvard: $102K 10-year earnings vs Dartmouth's $93K. $9K gap, largely explained by Harvard's denser finance pipeline. - Yale: $88K 10-year earnings. Dartmouth clears Yale by $5K on 10-year earnings and has a lower net price on average. - Brown: $85K 10-year earnings. Dartmouth wins by $8K. - Cornell: $97K 10-year earnings. Cornell edges Dartmouth by $4K due to engineering weight. - Penn: $103K 10-year earnings. Penn wins due to Wharton.
The combination of Dartmouth's low net price and strong earnings puts it in a strong position relative to every Ivy except Harvard and Penn.
For students choosing between Dartmouth and the elite liberal arts colleges, the cleanest peer reads are Williams, Amherst, and Middlebury. Williams and Amherst both meet full demonstrated need and post comparable mid-career earnings on a similar small-college scale; Middlebury sits a tier below on early earnings but offers a different academic identity around languages and international affairs.
The Verdict
Dartmouth scores 94/100. The low net price and unusually dense alumni network produce strong financial outcomes.
Worth it for: - Admitted students from families earning under $150K. Net price lands in the $3-$15K range and the earnings premium works across majors. - Students interested in consulting, private equity, or investment banking. The alumni network and Tuck adjacency create recruiting density on par with Penn and Duke. - Pre-med and pre-law students. Dartmouth's placement rates into top graduate programs are strong. - Students who want a small, tight-knit undergraduate experience rather than a large research university.
Think harder if: - You want a heavy tech or engineering program. Dartmouth's engineering is solid, but Cornell, MIT, and Penn produce higher engineering earnings and denser tech recruiting. - You're a humanities-only student in a high-income family. Net price approaches $55-$65K, and English and History earnings at Dartmouth are modest relative to the cost. - You're looking for urban access. Hanover, NH is rural. This is not a drawback for most students, but it affects internship access during the academic year (the D-Plan helps somewhat).
Data: College Scorecard, as of 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dartmouth worth the cost?
For most admitted students, yes. Dartmouth scores 94/100 on CampusROI's scale. Median debt is $14,900, 10-year earnings are $93,280, and the debt-to-earnings ratio is 0.160. Dartmouth's small size and tight-knit alumni network produce a consulting and finance placement rate that rivals Penn and Duke.
What is Dartmouth's ROI score?
Dartmouth scores 94/100 - Exceptional Value. Sub-scores: earnings premium 92/100, payback period 96/100, debt-to-earnings 95/100, completion rate 98/100, repayment rate 89/100. The net price is the lowest among comparable Ivies, which drives a strong payback figure.
What is Dartmouth's net price?
Average net price is $22,140/year after grants and aid. Families earning under $30K pay about $2,800/year. Families at $30-48K pay $3,900. Families at $48-75K pay $6,100. Families at $75-110K pay $13,400. Families above $110K pay an average of $52,600.
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