A bachelor’s degree in any college major pays off in the long run.
That’s the takeaway from an in-depth study of the financial return on college degrees over time.
A report from the Postsecondary Commission, a college accreditation organization, found that the typical bachelor’s degree yielded a return of nearly $87,000 in the 15 years after students enrolled.
The return on investment varied widely by major, from a high of $204,686 for engineering and architecture degrees to a low of $35,410 for liberal arts. But every major paid off in the end.
“For the average student, I think what the study shows is that it’s a good value,” said Chelsea Pennucci, vice president of research and knowledge management at the accreditor.
Is College Worth the Cost in 2026?
The dollar value of a college degree may be the most important topic in higher education in 2026.
With tuition rising, many Americans are drifting toward the view that college isn’t worth the expense. In 2024, Pew Research reported that only 22% of adults consider college “worth it” for students who have to take out loans.
“This has become a much more high-stakes conversation for families, because of how expensive college is,” said Armand Alacbay, chief of staff and senior vice president of strategy at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, an organization not involved in the report.
The study is not the first to look at the return on a college investment, but it is unusual in its depth and scale. Researchers tracked nearly 1 million students who enrolled in 86 public colleges in Texas, starting in the 2008-09 academic year. They calculated how much those students earned through work, and how much they spent on study.
For comparison purposes, the study also tracked the earnings of demographically similar Texans who did not enroll in college.
Fifteen years after enrollment in a bachelor’s program, the average student had earned a cumulative $533,151. The comparison group, who did not attend college, had earned $432,996.
After subtracting education expenses, the average student cleared $86,806 more income than the average non-student.
The accreditor chose to study students in Texas because the state has a “best-in-class, superb state longitudinal data system,” Pennucci said.
“This study that we released in Texas was the first of what we hope are many,” she said.
Some Colleges Now Charge More Than $100,000
The high sticker price at America’s priciest private colleges is a perennial source of outrage for the nation’s college-bound students and their families.
At least 16 colleges charge more than $100,000 in tuition, fees, room and board to students who pay full fare, according to a June report from CNBC.
But few students pay the sticker price, and the actual cost of college is typically much lower.
The average net price in tuition and fees for an in-state student at a four-year public college plummeted by nearly half over the past decade, after inflation, from $4,400 in 2015-16 to an estimated $2,300 in 2025-26, according to a report from the College Board.
At private nonprofit colleges, average tuition and fees have dwindled from $19,490 in 2015 to an estimated $16,910 in 2025, after accounting for inflation and aid.
The Texas report focuses on public institutions. The typical Texas student spent a total of $13,349 on higher education over 15 years. That sum will sound shockingly low to anyone who has paid full price at a private college. It’s probably more representative of the 73% of college students nationwide who attend public institutions.
When Does a College Degree Start to Pay Off?
Tracking students over time, researchers found that Texans who chose to attend college started out behind their peers who did not, in financial terms.
The earnings gap peaked around year five, the earliest date a typical college student might enter the full-time workforce. At that point, the college attender had roughly $34,000 less wealth, between lost earnings and college costs, than the non-student.
The college student caught up to the non-student around year 10. After that, higher earnings put the college student further ahead every year.
Not every college delivered the same returns. Students who enrolled in bachelor’s programs at 27 Texas colleges earned more over time than non-students, the study found. At two other campuses, they earned less.
The study didn’t identify those schools, but Pennucci said colleges with higher graduation rates generally yielded higher earnings for their students.
Notably, the report included students who didn’t finish their degrees. Nationally, only about three-fifths of college students complete their studies within six years. If you don’t earn a degree, you don’t get the salary bump that comes with it.
Some Degrees Are More Valuable Than Others
The study’s findings reaffirm the widely held view that some college degrees are more valuable than others.
Degree programs focused on high-paying careers yielded more bang for the tuition buck than programs in traditional academic disciplines. Engineering and architecture students fared best, in money terms, followed by business and economics majors. Degrees in the physical and social sciences delivered less payoff. The liberal arts finished last.
Some academic leaders worry that the report might drive students away from programs that encompass the core of human knowledge.
“I do worry about the whole focus on economic return,” said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, who also sits on the governing board of the Postsecondary Commission. “I think it is a fair focus, but I think it certainly shouldn’t be the only focus.”
One argument for studying liberal arts, rather than engineering or business, suggests courses in philosophy and literature teach critical thinking skills, and that those skills pay off over the full course of a career in any field.
“Your college major is very helpful in finding your first job,” Alacbay said. “But what about your fifth job, or your seventh?”
