Best ROI: Under $30,000/year Net Price

Schools under $30,000/year after aid, ranked by ROI - the sweet spot where an affordable price meets real earning power.

50 schools ranked

Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release

#	School	ROI	Net Price	10yr Earnings	Median Debt	Completion	Tier
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	99	$20,111	$143,372	$14,768	96.4%	Exceptional
2	Stanford University Stanford, CA	99	$13,807	$124,080	$12,000	91.9%	Exceptional
3	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	98	$14,860	$91,885	$15,000	95.9%	Exceptional
4	Rice University Houston, TX	98	$13,370	$89,718	$11,000	94.6%	Exceptional
5	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	97	$13,481	$92,446	$13,000	92.8%	Exceptional
6	Yale University New Haven, CT	97	$23,777	$100,533	$12,975	95.7%	Exceptional
7	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	97	$12,116	$102,772	$21,672	94.0%	Exceptional
8	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	97	$26,780	$99,980	$19,000	95.2%	Exceptional
9	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	97	$28,699	$111,371	$15,715	96.5%	Exceptional
10	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	97	$15,846	$91,565	$14,000	93.5%	Exceptional
11	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	96	$16,665	$90,768	$18,500	86.4%	Exceptional
12	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	96	$12,548	$82,511	$14,000	92.6%	Exceptional
13	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	96	$12,470	$84,943	$15,500	86.1%	Exceptional
14	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	96	$18,809	$87,555	$10,250	93.8%	Exceptional
15	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	96	$19,066	$101,817	$14,000	97.6%	Exceptional
16	Williams College Williamstown, MA	96	$17,716	$88,665	$12,761	93.6%	Exceptional
17	Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO	96	$21,786	$86,182	$17,500	94.3%	Exceptional
18	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	96	$21,590	$102,491	$21,500	96.1%	Exceptional
19	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	96	$28,690	$104,043	$14,000	95.4%	Exceptional
20	Duke University Durham, NC	96	$29,612	$97,800	$13,000	96.8%	Exceptional
21	Brown University Providence, RI	96	$25,184	$93,487	$11,428	95.7%	Exceptional
22	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	95	$14,741	$80,838	$13,000	85.7%	Exceptional
23	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	95	$13,138	$83,648	$19,500	93.2%	Exceptional
24	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	95	$29,519	$97,434	$17,500	95.5%	Exceptional
25	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	95	$21,565	$86,863	$17,500	95.6%	Exceptional
26	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	94	$14,251	$80,735	$15,000	86.9%	Exceptional
27	Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO	94	$28,690	$97,335	$23,000	81.7%	Exceptional
28	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	94	$29,167	$89,363	$15,000	95.1%	Exceptional
29	Colby College Waterville, ME	94	$17,180	$80,490	$19,157	88.8%	Exceptional
30	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	94	$15,678	$82,860	$19,000	88.6%	Exceptional
31	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	94	$25,496	$84,803	$10,000	91.5%	Exceptional
32	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	94	$6,128	$110,066	$10,320	97.6%	Exceptional
33	Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Albany, NY	94	$29,882	$131,426	$25,500	67.5%	Exceptional
34	The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York, NY	94	$13,269	$83,847	$15,000	81.1%	Exceptional
35	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	94	$11,655	$72,200	$14,000	91.2%	Exceptional
36	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	94	$15,564	$75,790	$11,069	81.0%	Exceptional
37	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	94	$14,091	$78,466	$14,615	85.2%	Exceptional
38	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	93	$14,355	$81,054	$19,500	85.1%	Exceptional
39	United States Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point, NY	93	$6,174	$90,610	$8,833	82.4%	Exceptional
40	Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA	92	$28,849	$104,736	$13,500	91.4%	Exceptional
41	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	92	$6,541	$71,588	$15,000	91.1%	Exceptional
42	Emory University Atlanta, GA	92	$22,585	$80,137	$18,250	91.1%	Exceptional
43	Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL	92	$18,425	$82,592	$25,000	75.2%	Exceptional
44	Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME	92	$14,398	$82,735	$18,500	95.3%	Exceptional
45	Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buzzards Bay, MA	92	$21,582	$82,392	$25,000	74.1%	Exceptional
46	New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ	92	$16,504	$84,276	$21,000	72.8%	Exceptional
47	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	92	$28,786	$85,139	$15,000	91.2%	Exceptional
48	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY	92	$3,033	$75,971	$11,512	72.1%	Exceptional
49	Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA	92	$23,149	$80,257	$17,500	92.3%	Exceptional
50	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	91	$13,760	$78,988	$15,000	69.2%	Exceptional

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How We Rank

Rankings are based on our ROI score (0-100), which weights five quantifiable factors: Earnings Premium (30%), Payback Period (25%), Debt-to-Earnings (20%), Completion Rate (15%), and Loan Repayment (10%). All data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. No subjective criteria are used.

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Common Questions

What is the best college for ROI under $30,000 a year?

Massachusetts Institute of Technology tops this list at 99/100 on our ROI scale, the highest among the 50 schools ranked here. Rankings weigh net price against median graduate earnings from U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data - no prestige guesswork.

Which school on this list has the highest graduate earnings?

Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports the highest median earnings here, about $143,372 ten years after enrollment. In our view higher earnings alone don't make the best value, since what you pay matters just as much - which is why the ranking weighs cost too.

What is the most affordable school on this list?

CUNY Bernard M Baruch College carries the lowest net price among the ranked schools, about $3,033 a year after grants and scholarships. Net price is what students actually pay, not the published sticker price.

How are these schools ranked?

We score every school 0 to 100 on five quantifiable factors: earnings premium (30%), payback period (25%), debt-to-earnings (20%), completion rate (15%), and loan repayment (10%). All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, with no subjective reputation scoring. Of the 50 schools here, 50 earn an ROI score of 60 or higher.