This data tool contains more than 42,000 ROI calculations. It includes nine years of data for an average of 4,600 institutions per year.

Tabs, dropdown boxes, radio buttons, and drilldown facilitate exploration of the data. Additionally, chart legends act as filters. Hover over the bars of the chart for more information; click on the bars to see a list of institutions in that category.

(Please note that data were not collected in 2016 and 2017.)

All the data are also available as an interactive table (see the "Table" tab).

The chart on the right shows how ROI varies across 10-, 15-, 20-, 30-, and 40-year intervals, or "horizons."

Note that at the 10-, 15-, or 20- year interval, the median ROI of certificates and associate's degrees exceeds or matches those of bachelor's degree-granting institutions. This is because obtaining a bachelor's degree requires a greater investment of time and money.

* The years on the x-axis are the years earnings are measured in the College Scorecard, not the year the College Scorecard updates were released.

Use the data tool to explore the following questions:
  • How does ROI change by degree level? Are the year-to-year changes larger for higher-level degrees?
  • How does ROI change by time horizon? Are the year-to-year changes larger for longer time horizons?
  • Is ROI consistently different for different types of institutions?
  • How does ROI change across different years?

Hover over the bars of the chart for more information; click on the bars to see a list of institutions in that category.

Horizon:
Institution type:

The chart on the left shows how the ROI of an institution changes over various time horizons based on the predominant credential that the institution offers. For example, at the ten-year horizon, 60 percent of institutions that predominantly grant certificates are in the top ROI decile, compared to 16 percent of institutions that predominantly offer bachelor's degrees. By the 40-year time horizon, only 11 percent of institutions that predominantly offer certificates remain in the top ROI decile, but 81 percent of institutions that predominantly offer bachelor’s degrees are in the top decile.

The chart on the right shows the likelihood of a type of degree being in a particular decile in each time horizon. For certificates with a 10-year horizon, 14 percent are in the top decile.

(In this chart, the percentages sum to 100 across deciles.)

    Use the data tool to explore the following questions:
  • How does the ROI decile of an institution that predominantly offers a particular credential change across different time horizons?
  • How does the likelihood of being in a certain decile change by degree?

Hover over the bars of the chart for more information; click on the bars to see a list of institutions in that category.

Horizon:
ROI (2023$)
Institution
 State
 Institution type
 Predominant degree
 Year
 10-year 15-year 20-year 30-year 40-year

Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce analysis of data from the US Department of Education, College Scorecard, 2009 – 22.

Note: Percentages may not sum due to rounding.