Colleges: Earnings, Debt and Completion Side by Side
This index lists the 125 institutions profiled in the launch edition of College Outcomes Data: the largest predominantly bachelor's-degree institutions in the College Scorecard release, plus the best-known research universities and liberal-arts names families ask about most, whether or not their enrolment alone would have put them on the list. Every profile uses the same three headline measures — median earnings ten years after entry, median graduate debt, and completion rate — because those are the three numbers a family needs together before any campus visit, brochure or ranking can be taken seriously.
Use the table to shortlist, not to crown a winner. Sort in your head by the question you are actually asking: if affordability is binding, start from the debt column and see which earnings figures survive at debt you can carry; if finishing on time is the risk, start from completion; if a specific major is the plan, open the profile and read its field-of-study highlights, because programme-level earnings routinely differ from the campus average by more than campuses differ from each other. The median across the 1,495 comparable institutions reporting all three outcomes is $59,084 in earnings, $21,625 in graduate debt and 55.7% in completion — a useful reality check for any figure that looks unusually good or bad.
Two cautions apply to every row. First, earnings cover students who received federal financial aid; colleges where most students pay without aid are describing a subset of their class, not the whole class. Second, these are cohort medians from years past — they tell you what happened to students who entered long enough ago to be measured, in the majors and labour markets of that time. They are the best comparable evidence available, and they are still evidence about the past. Our methodology page explains cohorts, suppression and definitions in full, and the Learn section walks through how to compare debt against earnings without fooling yourself.
| Institution | Location | Earnings (10 yr) | Graduate debt | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Public University System | Charles Town, WV | $41,320 | $18,277 | 60.1% |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion | Tempe, AZ | $69,111 | $19,151 | 67.2% |
| Auburn University | Auburn, AL | $73,273 | $19,500 | 82.1% |
| Boston University | Boston, MA | $89,087 | $17,500 | 89.5% |
| Brandeis University | Waltham, MA | $85,519 | $18,338 | 81.0% |
| Brigham Young University | Provo, UT | $80,228 | $12,250 | 80.8% |
| Brown University | Providence, RI | $99,974 | $14,567 | 95.6% |
| California Institute of Technology | Pasadena, CA | $166,642 | $7,500 | 89.8% |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo, CA | $96,304 | $16,500 | 86.6% |
| California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | Pomona, CA | $77,464 | $15,500 | 67.8% |
| California State University-Fresno | Fresno, CA | $62,756 | $13,156 | 58.2% |
| California State University-Fullerton | Fullerton, CA | $69,015 | $13,594 | 67.9% |
| California State University-Long Beach | Long Beach, CA | $69,554 | $14,195 | 70.3% |
| California State University-Northridge | Northridge, CA | $63,721 | $15,000 | 56.8% |
| California State University-Sacramento | Sacramento, CA | $69,014 | $15,000 | 54.4% |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA | $125,257 | $19,000 | 94.3% |
| Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, OH | $89,865 | $21,500 | 87.4% |
| Clemson University | Clemson, SC | $79,064 | $19,500 | 87.5% |
| Colorado State University-Fort Collins | Fort Collins, CO | $66,947 | $18,750 | 67.6% |
| Colorado Technical University-Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs, CO | $44,720 | $29,971 | 19.3% |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | New York, NY | $109,430 | $20,500 | 95.2% |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | $113,531 | $12,000 | 94.5% |
| Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH | $111,162 | $13,000 | 95.3% |
| Duke University | Durham, NC | $113,937 | $13,000 | 96.1% |
| Emory University | Atlanta, GA | $93,897 | $12,000 | 91.0% |
| Florida Atlantic University | Boca Raton, FL | $61,062 | $17,500 | 64.4% |
| Florida International University | Miami, FL | $65,722 | $15,547 | 77.6% |
| Florida State University | Tallahassee, FL | $68,225 | $13,000 | 85.8% |
| Full Sail University | Winter Park, FL | $40,548 | $27,000 | 41.8% |
| George Mason University | Fairfax, VA | $79,923 | $18,500 | 66.5% |
| Georgetown University | Washington, DC | $110,516 | $14,746 | 94.3% |
| Georgia Southern University | Statesboro, GA | $59,167 | $20,568 | 53.6% |
| Georgia State University | Atlanta, GA | $51,903 | $21,500 | 51.0% |
| Grand Canyon University | Phoenix, AZ | $50,609 | $24,000 | 54.2% |
| Harvard University | Cambridge, MA | $121,957 | $17,559 | 97.1% |
| Indiana University-Bloomington | Bloomington, IN | $70,105 | $19,000 | 80.0% |
| Iowa State University | Ames, IA | $67,568 | $21,250 | 76.7% |
| Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | $104,590 | $12,000 | 93.4% |
| Kennesaw State University | Kennesaw, GA | $62,766 | $21,500 | 50.1% |
| Lehigh University | Bethlehem, PA | $116,342 | $21,371 | 85.2% |
| Liberty University | Lynchburg, VA | $46,945 | $22,500 | 63.9% |
| Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | Baton Rouge, LA | $64,338 | $19,500 | 68.0% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | $152,553 | $14,000 | 95.7% |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI | $74,168 | $20,000 | 80.3% |
| New York University | New York, NY | $90,957 | $19,000 | 87.8% |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | Raleigh, NC | $77,810 | $19,500 | 84.9% |
| Northeastern University | Boston, MA | $99,371 | $20,000 | 90.7% |
| Northern Arizona University | Flagstaff, AZ | $59,083 | $17,500 | 58.5% |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | $104,255 | $17,017 | 96.1% |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus | Columbus, OH | $67,080 | $19,500 | 86.6% |
| Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | Stillwater, OK | $60,713 | $19,500 | 69.4% |
| Oregon State University | Corvallis, OR | $67,894 | $20,500 | 67.6% |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | University Park, PA | $71,762 | $24,500 | 85.4% |
| Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | $133,523 | $12,400 | 97.4% |
| Purdue University-Main Campus | West Lafayette, IN | $80,082 | $18,750 | 84.0% |
| Rice University | Houston, TX | $90,773 | $13,000 | 95.3% |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick | New Brunswick, NJ | $80,490 | $18,974 | 83.9% |
| San Diego State University | San Diego, CA | $73,494 | $14,500 | 78.0% |
| San Jose State University | San Jose, CA | $83,493 | $14,750 | 67.7% |
| Southern New Hampshire University | Manchester, NH | $56,870 | $19,999 | 42.1% |
| Stanford University | Stanford, CA | $125,340 | $10,750 | 91.6% |
| Texas A&M University-College Station | College Station, TX | $78,159 | $17,350 | 84.5% |
| Texas State University | San Marcos, TX | $60,523 | $19,500 | 54.9% |
| Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX | $67,143 | $19,500 | 69.9% |
| The University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa, AL | $66,081 | $21,500 | 73.7% |
| The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | Knoxville, TN | $65,090 | $18,750 | 74.5% |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Edinburg, TX | $52,947 | $12,250 | 54.7% |
| The University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington, TX | $72,508 | $17,534 | 50.8% |
| The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | $81,694 | $19,000 | 89.2% |
| The University of Texas at Dallas | Richardson, TX | $74,762 | $17,567 | 79.2% |
| The University of Texas at El Paso | El Paso, TX | $54,599 | $16,000 | 50.8% |
| The University of Texas at San Antonio | San Antonio, TX | $60,704 | $20,000 | 51.6% |
| Tufts University | Medford, MA | $89,187 | $16,250 | 93.6% |
| University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ | $67,414 | $18,000 | 70.9% |
| University of Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR | $63,588 | $20,500 | 70.9% |
| University of California-Berkeley | Berkeley, CA | $100,212 | $12,416 | 93.7% |
| University of California-Davis | Davis, CA | $86,999 | $12,038 | 85.7% |
| University of California-Irvine | Irvine, CA | $83,432 | $12,821 | 86.6% |
| University of California-Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $88,581 | $13,750 | 92.8% |
| University of California-Riverside | Riverside, CA | $72,974 | $16,368 | 75.1% |
| University of California-San Diego | La Jolla, CA | $96,197 | $13,000 | 86.0% |
| University of California-Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA | $82,568 | $11,776 | 83.6% |
| University of Central Florida | Orlando, FL | $63,483 | $17,065 | 77.8% |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $103,872 | $12,000 | 95.0% |
| University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | Cincinnati, OH | $60,832 | $20,500 | 75.0% |
| University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder, CO | $77,574 | $18,500 | 74.3% |
| University of Florida | Gainesville, FL | $78,456 | $13,496 | 92.1% |
| University of Georgia | Athens, GA | $77,246 | $15,623 | 89.1% |
| University of Houston | Houston, TX | $68,423 | $17,250 | 65.7% |
| University of Illinois Chicago | Chicago, IL | $73,666 | $14,500 | 61.5% |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | Champaign, IL | $87,599 | $17,750 | 86.3% |
| University of Iowa | Iowa City, IA | $70,727 | $21,262 | 75.8% |
| University of Kansas | Lawrence, KS | $67,963 | $20,000 | 70.3% |
| University of Kentucky | Lexington, KY | $63,924 | $19,500 | 71.7% |
| University of Maryland Global Campus | Adelphi, MD | $68,110 | $19,000 | 34.3% |
| University of Maryland-College Park | College Park, MD | $89,228 | $16,000 | 88.4% |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst | Amherst, MA | $80,486 | $21,500 | 81.2% |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI | $92,832 | $18,515 | 93.2% |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | Minneapolis, MN | $74,314 | $19,350 | 85.2% |
| University of Mississippi | University, MS | $59,112 | $18,750 | 70.3% |
| University of Missouri-Columbia | Columbia, MO | $69,958 | $18,743 | 76.6% |
| University of Nevada-Las Vegas | Las Vegas, NV | $62,536 | $18,450 | 51.7% |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC | $81,094 | $12,086 | 91.1% |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte, NC | $63,486 | $19,500 | 68.2% |
| University of North Texas | Denton, TX | $59,434 | $18,000 | 62.9% |
| University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame, IN | $113,124 | $19,000 | 95.4% |
| University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | Norman, OK | $66,905 | $19,668 | 74.7% |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | $121,687 | $15,000 | 96.9% |
| University of Phoenix-Arizona | Phoenix, AZ | $43,584 | $26,090 | 20.7% |
| University of Rochester | Rochester, NY | $88,358 | $19,000 | 83.4% |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia | Columbia, SC | $69,024 | $20,500 | 78.7% |
| University of South Florida | Tampa, FL | $63,660 | $16,250 | 77.9% |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | $103,420 | $17,000 | 90.2% |
| University of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT | $72,729 | $16,878 | 66.3% |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus | Charlottesville, VA | $96,468 | $15,000 | 94.4% |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus | Seattle, WA | $83,105 | $14,008 | 85.2% |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Madison, WI | $80,330 | $18,375 | 89.8% |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, TN | $99,080 | $15,000 | 92.6% |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Blacksburg, VA | $88,716 | $20,500 | 85.9% |
| Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem, NC | $104,443 | $19,500 | 90.3% |
| Washington State University | Pullman, WA | $72,280 | $18,500 | 62.8% |
| Washington University in St Louis | St. Louis, MO | $91,497 | $15,250 | 92.8% |
| Western Governors University | Salt Lake City, UT | $76,999 | $12,500 | 50.4% |
| William & Mary | Williamsburg, VA | $83,488 | $17,417 | 88.3% |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | $118,356 | $11,982 | 96.3% |
Note on this data: Figures on this page come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard release retrieved in October 2026. Earnings cover students who received federal financial aid and were working and not enrolled at the measurement point; they are medians for a defined past cohort, not a promise of what any individual graduate will earn. Check the college and the Scorecard for the most current figures before you decide.