Best ROI Colleges for $30–48k Income

Ranked by 10-year net financial gain using Monte Carlo simulation (10,000 scenarios per school). Results use actual earnings distributions and net price for families earning $30,000–$48,000.

$0–30k $30–48k $48–75k $75–110k $110k+

1,581

Schools Simulated

5000%

#1 Median ROI

$932k

#1 Net Gain

82.3%

Avg P(Positive ROI)

How this works: We run 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations per school. Each simulation randomly samples earnings from actual percentile data (10th–90th), accounts for graduation probability, and varies time-to-degree. Net gain = (simulated earnings − $35k baseline) × 10 years − total cost. Try the interactive calculator →

Top 100 Best ROI Schools

#	School	Net Price/yr	Median Earnings	Median ROI	Net Gain (10yr)	If You Graduate
1	Franklin W Olin College of Engineering MA · Private	$859	$133k	+5000%	+$932k	5000% → 5000%
2	Harvard University MA · Private	$1,396	$85k	+5000%	+$482k	3197% → 5000%
3	Northwestern University IL · Private	$917	$80k	+5000%	+$422k	4607% → 5000%
4	Rice University TX · Private	$1,340	$78k	+5000%	+$386k	2573% → 5000%
5	Stanford University CA · Private	$1,581	$98k	+5000%	+$600k	3404% → 5000%
6	University of Pennsylvania PA · Private	$1,938	$103k	+5000%	+$623k	2976% → 5000%
7	Washington and Lee University VA · Private	$850	$86k	+5000%	+$469k	5000% → 5000%
8	Washington University in St Louis MO · Private	$2,446	$83k	+3998%	+$437k	1787% → 5000%
9	Yale University CT · Private	$3,083	$89k	+3766%	+$509k	1640% → 5000%
10	Brown University RI · Private	$2,842	$79k	+3249%	+$405k	1170% → 5000%
11	Colby College ME · Private	$2,361	$71k	+2828%	+$302k	917% → 5000%
12	Princeton University NJ · Private	$4,502	$96k	+2805%	+$561k	690% → 5000%
13	Davidson College NC · Private	$3,004	$72k	+2460%	+$327k	1019% → 5000%
14	Columbia University in the City of New York NY · Private	$4,699	$90k	+2386%	+$502k	836% → 5000%
15	Colegio Universitario de San Juan PR · Public	$710	$26k	+2365%	+$34k	-100% → 716%
16	Cornell University NY · Private	$5,133	$91k	+2241%	+$512k	885% → 4682%
17	Swarthmore College PA · Private	$4,012	$73k	+2024%	+$353k	817% → 3926%
18	Johns Hopkins University MD · Private	$4,859	$83k	+1967%	+$430k	907% → 3851%
19	United States Merchant Marine Academy NY · Public	$4,195	$83k	+1873%	+$358k	1176% → 4509%
20	Vanderbilt University TN · Private	$4,652	$80k	+1828%	+$383k	643% → 4006%
21	University of Chicago IL · Private	$4,777	$77k	+1792%	+$379k	617% → 4310%
22	University of Florida FL · Public	$2,857	$64k	+1758%	+$229k	468% → 4570%
23	Amherst College MA · Private	$4,459	$72k	+1614%	+$321k	464% → 4120%
24	Boston College MA · Private	$7,075	$93k	+1542%	+$488k	698% → 3251%
25	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI · Public	$5,670	$76k	+1421%	+$358k	471% → 2892%
26	Williams College MA · Private	$5,480	$72k	+1319%	+$324k	345% → 3074%
27	Massachusetts Maritime Academy MA · Public	$7,554	$92k	+1298%	+$443k	794% → 2562%
28	Dartmouth College NH · Private	$8,718	$92k	+1271%	+$490k	478% → 2945%
29	Wake Forest University NC · Private	$5,612	$75k	+1227%	+$311k	524% → 3067%
30	Georgetown University DC · Private	$9,871	$96k	+1210%	+$529k	484% → 2567%
31	University of Notre Dame IN · Private	$9,136	$89k	+1182%	+$485k	471% → 2231%
32	California Institute of Technology CA · Private	$12,190	$112k	+1169%	+$643k	454% → 2341%
33	Claremont McKenna College CA · Private	$8,693	$87k	+1089%	+$424k	508% → 2337%
34	Bates College ME · Private	$4,981	$65k	+1063%	+$237k	322% → 2566%
35	Pomona College CA · Private	$6,239	$69k	+1052%	+$289k	423% → 2702%
36	University of Wisconsin-Madison WI · Public	$4,788	$65k	+1043%	+$225k	355% → 2578%
37	Northeastern University MA · Private	$7,376	$80k	+1033%	+$349k	401% → 2006%
38	Colgate University NY · Private	$7,197	$76k	+1029%	+$331k	372% → 2820%
39	Hamilton College NY · Private	$6,827	$74k	+995%	+$306k	389% → 2294%
40	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College NY · Public	$2,741	$67k	+908%	+$115k	479% → 4794%
41	Carnegie Mellon University PA · Private	$13,608	$100k	+866%	+$528k	306% → 1836%
42	University of Florida-Online FL · Public	$3,523	$64k	+818%	+$128k	336% → 3926%
43	University of California-Berkeley CA · Public	$9,999	$80k	+808%	+$361k	258% → 1921%
44	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus GA · Public	$11,712	$88k	+800%	+$426k	363% → 1473%
45	Middlebury College VT · Private	$7,221	$66k	+775%	+$253k	122% → 2078%
46	Wesleyan University CT · Private	$7,475	$68k	+758%	+$252k	181% → 1741%
47	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC · Public	$5,729	$62k	+744%	+$191k	98% → 2124%
48	University of Virginia-Main Campus VA · Public	$10,063	$77k	+744%	+$334k	230% → 1612%
49	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign IL · Public	$8,036	$72k	+731%	+$267k	253% → 1728%
50	University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA · Public	$6,399	$69k	+722%	+$209k	222% → 2126%
51	Emory University GA · Private	$8,976	$72k	+721%	+$289k	267% → 1816%
52	CUNY Hunter College NY · Public	$2,135	$56k	+720%	+$31k	-100% → 4433%
53	Bowdoin College ME · Private	$7,823	$67k	+719%	+$255k	44% → 1888%
54	Lafayette College PA · Private	$12,400	$85k	+711%	+$393k	384% → 1305%
55	Tufts University MA · Private	$7,987	$67k	+703%	+$253k	67% → 1992%
56	University of Minnesota-Morris MN · Public	$2,230	$47k	+685%	+$31k	-100% → 2867%
57	Wellesley College MA · Private	$8,021	$67k	+670%	+$243k	141% → 1754%
58	Purdue University-Main Campus IN · Public	$5,853	$65k	+666%	+$179k	153% → 2070%
59	Lehigh University PA · Private	$14,995	$95k	+665%	+$453k	325% → 1294%
60	University of California-Los Angeles CA · Public	$9,891	$74k	+649%	+$291k	165% → 1561%
61	Harvey Mudd College CA · Private	$20,829	$109k	+637%	+$591k	247% → 1186%
62	William & Mary VA · Public	$7,507	$65k	+637%	+$218k	92% → 1831%
63	Elizabeth City State University NC · Public	$2,407	$35k	+627%	+$30k	-100% → 1094%
64	Haverford College PA · Private	$9,272	$69k	+624%	+$263k	187% → 1395%
65	University of Richmond VA · Private	$8,606	$69k	+621%	+$238k	138% → 1760%
66	Scripps College CA · Private	$7,525	$65k	+618%	+$208k	190% → 1652%
67	Colorado School of Mines CO · Public	$13,690	$90k	+614%	+$376k	316% → 1273%
68	University of California-Irvine CA · Public	$8,449	$72k	+614%	+$239k	182% → 1599%
69	Babson College MA · Private	$20,502	$107k	+603%	+$558k	142% → 1235%
70	University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis MO · Private	$20,817	$122k	+576%	+$547k	298% → 1035%
71	Boston University MA · Private	$11,782	$76k	+559%	+$297k	187% → 1277%
72	California State University-Los Angeles CA · Public	$2,701	$52k	+548%	+$30k	-100% → 3060%
73	University of California-San Diego CA · Public	$11,176	$75k	+536%	+$272k	180% → 1335%
74	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice NY · Public	$2,802	$50k	+525%	+$29k	-100% → 2874%
75	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley TX · Public	$2,912	$46k	+501%	+$29k	-100% → 1809%
76	Haskell Indian Nations University KS · Public	$2,987	$30k	+486%	+$29k	-100% → 671%
77	Trinity College CT · Private	$8,608	$68k	+486%	+$191k	120% → 1717%
78	CUNY City College NY · Public	$3,035	$56k	+477%	+$29k	-100% → 3157%
79	University of Southern California CA · Private	$17,345	$83k	+472%	+$364k	125% → 1060%
80	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo CA · Public	$13,194	$81k	+470%	+$283k	147% → 1138%
81	College of the Holy Cross MA · Private	$17,357	$85k	+468%	+$369k	116% → 954%
82	CUNY Brooklyn College NY · Public	$3,105	$54k	+464%	+$29k	-100% → 2846%
83	Escuela de Artes Plasticas y Diseno de Puerto Rico PR · Public	$3,149	$23k	+456%	+$29k	-100% → -12%
84	University of Maryland-College Park MD · Public	$11,567	$72k	+449%	+$239k	121% → 1154%
85	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute NY · Private	$20,738	$93k	+435%	+$406k	214% → 810%
86	Bryn Mawr College PA · Private	$9,907	$66k	+433%	+$196k	134% → 1312%
87	California State University-Dominguez Hills CA · Public	$3,329	$47k	+426%	+$28k	-100% → 2103%
88	Brigham Young University-Idaho ID · Private	$3,357	$49k	+421%	+$28k	-100% → 2782%
89	CUNY Lehman College NY · Public	$3,381	$52k	+418%	+$28k	-100% → 2376%
90	George Washington University DC · Private	$14,889	$81k	+417%	+$282k	137% → 1113%
91	Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences NY · Private	$23,579	$119k	+413%	+$442k	280% → 918%
92	Bentley University MA · Private	$27,303	$108k	+412%	+$512k	180% → 719%
93	Franklin and Marshall College PA · Private	$13,110	$72k	+412%	+$243k	146% → 982%
94	University of California-Davis CA · Public	$11,598	$70k	+401%	+$209k	84% → 1171%
95	Virginia Military Institute VA · Public	$12,429	$72k	+399%	+$230k	111% → 844%
96	CUNY Queens College NY · Public	$3,524	$55k	+397%	+$28k	-100% → 2521%
97	Santa Clara University CA · Private	$23,508	$93k	+396%	+$415k	110% → 784%
98	Indiana University-Northwest IN · Public	$3,534	$42k	+395%	+$28k	-100% → 1605%
99	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN · Public	$8,609	$61k	+393%	+$155k	57% → 1175%
100	Carleton College MN · Private	$13,410	$67k	+387%	+$232k	51% → 923%

10 Worst ROI Schools (for $30–48k income)

Schools where the Monte Carlo simulation suggests negative returns are most likely

School	Net Price/yr	Net Gain (10yr)	P(Positive)
NUC University PR · For-Profit	$12,666	-$86k	36.2%
EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San Sebastian PR · Private	$6,453	-$47k	44.6%
Associated Beth Rivkah Schools NY · Private	$15,969	-$238k	11.4%
Yeshivath Viznitz NY · Private	$9,212	-$41k	40.9%
New York School of Interior Design NY · Private	$52,189	-$69k	29.5%
Concorde Career College-Kansas City MO · For-Profit	$25,386	-$80k	3.9%
California Institute of the Arts CA · Private	$51,512	-$68k	24.8%
Berklee College of Music MA · Private	$51,745	-$68k	15.7%
Ringling College of Art and Design FL · Private	$47,026	-$59k	29.7%
Landmark College VT · Private	$47,310	-$60k	4.3%

Run your own simulation

Choose a specific school and see the full distribution of outcomes.

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Monte Carlo simulation: 10,000 iterations per school. Earnings sampled from College Scorecard percentiles (10th/25th/50th/75th/90th).

Graduation probability from 6-year IPEDS rates. Baseline: $35k/year (high school graduate median). Net price from College Scorecard by income bracket.