We Calculated Return on Investment for 17,000 Associate Degrees and Certificates. Find Yours.

Our paper Is Community College Worth It? A Comprehensive Return on Investment Analysis calculates estimated earnings and lifetime return-on-investment (ROI) for nearly 17,000 associate degree and certificate programs across America. Browse the table below to find earnings and ROI data for your college and major.

Click here to open the table in a new tab.

Definitions

• Earnings at Graduation: Estimated median earnings of program graduates who received federal financial aid, in the first two years after graduation.
• Earnings at Age 35: Estimated median earnings of program graduates who received federal financial aid, at the age of 35.
• ROI (Before Completion Adjustment): The amount that a student can expect to see his or her earnings increase thanks to the associate degree or certificate, subtracting the direct and indirect costs of education, and assuming on-time graduation.
• ROI (After Completion Adjustment): The amount that a student can expect to see his or her earnings increase thanks to the associate degree or certificate, subtracting the direct and indirect costs of education, and accounting for the risk that the student will drop out before finishing the credential.
• ROI (Adjusting for Completion and Underlying Spending): The amount that a student can expect to see his or her earnings increase thanks to the associate degree or certificate, subtracting the full underlying cost of education before subsidies, and accounting for the risk that the student will drop out before finishing the credential.

Read more about how we calculated ROI in the full paper and the methodology.

Click here to download the full ROI dataset. Journalists and researchers are encouraged to make use of the data. Please attribute to the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity.