Best Value Colleges for Gerontology
Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.
8
Schools Ranked
$33,393
Avg. Earnings
12.4 yrs
Best Payback
222
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 | University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA · Public | $39,927 | 12.4 yrs |
| 2 | Western Oregon University Monmouth, OR · Public | $36,848 | 31.4 yrs |
| 3 | California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA · Public | $34,942 | N/A |
| 4 | Kansas State University Manhattan, KS · Public | $25,967 | N/A |
| 5 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH · Public | $31,133 | N/A |
| 6 | University of South Florida Tampa, FL · Public | $31,852 | N/A |
| 7 | Barton College Wilson, NC · Private | $30,228 | N/A |
| 8 | Pennsylvania Western University California, PA · Public | $35,060 | 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.