Best Value Colleges for Engineering-Related Technologies
Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.
6
Schools Ranked
$55,051
Avg. Earnings
1 yrs
Best Payback
62
Graduates
How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.
| # | School | Major Earnings | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA · Public | $67,101 | 1 yrs |
| 2 | Nicholls State University Thibodaux, LA · Public | $73,446 | 1.4 yrs |
| 3 | University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage, AK · Public | $65,332 | 1.7 yrs |
| 4 | University of Akron Main Campus Akron, OH · Public | $57,318 | 3.4 yrs |
| 5 | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred Alfred, NY · Public | $44,933 | 7.6 yrs |
| 6 | University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Mayaguez, PR · Public | $33,987 | N/A |
Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.