Best Colleges in Hawaii by ROI

The University of Hawaii at Manoa (72) is the best college in Hawaii on our numbers, and it wins on balance rather than on any single stat: $15,664 a year after aid, 64% completion, and $57,624 median earnings ten years out. No other school in the islands is above average on all three.

The cheapest route is UH West Oahu at $10,327 a year, and the lowest debt burden belongs to BYU-Hawaii, whose graduates carry a median of just $9,413. The trap on the board is Hawaii Pacific University: its graduates post the highest median earnings in the state, $59,593, but only 35% of students finish, and at $29,657 a year after aid it costs nearly twice what Manoa does. A great outcome you have a one in three chance of reaching is not a great bet.

In our view the Hawaii decision usually reduces to Manoa versus leaving the islands: Manoa is the only Hawaii school whose combination of price and completion would hold its own on the mainland ROI boards, and every other in-state option involves accepting either a completion risk or a premium price.