Research · College payoff · October 2026
Which colleges leave a graduate the furthest ahead after ten years
As of October 2026: Stanford University shows the largest payoff among the colleges families apply to most: ten years of pay at $124,080 a year minus four years at $13,807 leaves $1,185,572. Princeton University is next at $1,076,148, and the smallest figure on the list, Liberty University, still comes to $330,702.
The table holds payoff as a dollar amount: ten years of median pay minus four years of the price paid with aid. It is a subtraction, not a ratio.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Stanford leads, and the pay is why. Stanford pairs $124,080 in median pay with a $13,807 price, for $1,185,572. Princeton has the lower price of the two at $6,128 and lands at $1,076,148. Carnegie Mellon charges $31,944 and still reaches $1,020,844, on $114,862 in pay.
Subtracting changes the order, and that is the point. CUNY City College has the lowest four-year cost on the list at $15,104, and its payoff is $645,286. Georgia Tech costs $48,464 over four years and its payoff is $979,256. Pay divided by price would crown the cheap college every time. Subtracting lets the pay decide.
Several public campuses land near the top. Georgia Tech reaches $979,256 and UC Berkeley $870,536. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is at $841,020 and UC San Diego at $799,550. San Jose State, at $734,840, is ahead of private colleges that cost several times as much over four years.
Ten years of pay minus four years of cost, college by college
Sorted by the dollars a graduate is ahead. Both inputs are in the row.
| College | State | Median pay, ten years after entry | Price for a year, with aid | Ten years of pay | Four years of cost | Dollars ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford University | CA | $124,080 | $13,807 | $1,240,800 | $55,228 | $1,185,572 |
| Princeton University | NJ | $110,066 | $6,128 | $1,100,660 | $24,512 | $1,076,148 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | PA | $114,862 | $31,944 | $1,148,620 | $127,776 | $1,020,844 |
| University of Pennsylvania | PA | $111,371 | $28,699 | $1,113,710 | $114,796 | $998,914 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | GA | $102,772 | $12,116 | $1,027,720 | $48,464 | $979,256 |
| Harvard University | MA | $101,817 | $19,066 | $1,018,170 | $76,264 | $941,906 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | NY | $102,491 | $21,590 | $1,024,910 | $86,360 | $938,550 |
| Cornell University | NY | $104,043 | $28,690 | $1,040,430 | $114,760 | $925,670 |
| Yale University | CT | $100,533 | $23,777 | $1,005,330 | $95,108 | $910,222 |
| Boston College | MA | $103,937 | $41,704 | $1,039,370 | $166,816 | $872,554 |
| University of California-Berkeley | CA | $92,446 | $13,481 | $924,460 | $53,924 | $870,536 |
| Duke University | NC | $97,800 | $29,612 | $978,000 | $118,448 | $859,552 |
| University of Chicago | IL | $91,885 | $14,860 | $918,850 | $59,440 | $859,410 |
| Vanderbilt University | TN | $91,565 | $15,846 | $915,650 | $63,384 | $852,266 |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | CA | $90,768 | $16,665 | $907,680 | $66,660 | $841,020 |
| Brown University | RI | $93,487 | $25,184 | $934,870 | $100,736 | $834,134 |
| Northeastern University | MA | $92,538 | $30,915 | $925,380 | $123,660 | $801,720 |
| Johns Hopkins University | MD | $87,555 | $18,809 | $875,550 | $75,236 | $800,314 |
| University of California-San Diego | CA | $84,943 | $12,470 | $849,430 | $49,880 | $799,550 |
| University of Southern California | CA | $92,498 | $32,740 | $924,980 | $130,960 | $794,020 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | MI | $83,648 | $13,138 | $836,480 | $52,552 | $783,928 |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus | VA | $86,863 | $21,565 | $868,630 | $86,260 | $782,370 |
| Northwestern University | IL | $89,363 | $29,167 | $893,630 | $116,668 | $776,962 |
| University of California-Los Angeles | CA | $82,511 | $12,548 | $825,110 | $50,192 | $774,918 |
| Washington University in St Louis | MO | $86,182 | $21,786 | $861,820 | $87,144 | $774,676 |
| University of Maryland-College Park | MD | $82,860 | $15,678 | $828,600 | $62,712 | $765,888 |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | $81,054 | $14,355 | $810,540 | $57,420 | $753,120 |
| University of California-Irvine | CA | $80,735 | $14,251 | $807,350 | $57,004 | $750,346 |
| University of California-Davis | CA | $80,838 | $14,741 | $808,380 | $58,964 | $749,416 |
| San Jose State University | CA | $78,988 | $13,760 | $789,880 | $55,040 | $734,840 |
| Boston University | MA | $83,238 | $24,402 | $832,380 | $97,608 | $734,772 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus | WA | $78,466 | $14,091 | $784,660 | $56,364 | $728,296 |
| Binghamton University | NY | $80,596 | $21,620 | $805,960 | $86,480 | $719,480 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | VA | $81,698 | $24,953 | $816,980 | $99,812 | $717,168 |
| Case Western Reserve University | OH | $87,989 | $41,190 | $879,890 | $164,760 | $715,130 |
| Drexel University | PA | $84,648 | $38,509 | $846,480 | $154,036 | $692,444 |
| University of Florida | FL | $71,588 | $6,541 | $715,880 | $26,164 | $689,716 |
| University of California-Santa Barbara | CA | $74,915 | $16,109 | $749,150 | $64,436 | $684,714 |
| Fordham University | NY | $85,569 | $44,338 | $855,690 | $177,352 | $678,338 |
| New York University | NY | $82,509 | $37,050 | $825,090 | $148,200 | $676,890 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | NC | $72,200 | $11,655 | $722,000 | $46,620 | $675,380 |
| California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | CA | $71,902 | $11,531 | $719,020 | $46,124 | $672,896 |
| Tufts University | MA | $83,214 | $39,998 | $832,140 | $159,992 | $672,148 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | TX | $75,121 | $19,857 | $751,210 | $79,428 | $671,782 |
| Stony Brook University | NY | $74,502 | $18,784 | $745,020 | $75,136 | $669,884 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | WI | $73,792 | $17,354 | $737,920 | $69,416 | $668,504 |
| Purdue University-Main Campus | IN | $72,424 | $14,600 | $724,240 | $58,400 | $665,840 |
| University of Delaware | DE | $72,950 | $17,799 | $729,500 | $71,196 | $658,304 |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick | NJ | $74,479 | $24,406 | $744,790 | $97,624 | $647,166 |
| CUNY City College | NY | $66,039 | $3,776 | $660,390 | $15,104 | $645,286 |
| University of Connecticut | CT | $73,997 | $25,097 | $739,970 | $100,388 | $639,582 |
| Syracuse University | NY | $79,164 | $38,793 | $791,640 | $155,172 | $636,468 |
| Texas A & M University-College Station | TX | $72,097 | $21,315 | $720,970 | $85,260 | $635,710 |
| University of Georgia | GA | $68,726 | $13,936 | $687,260 | $55,744 | $631,516 |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst | MA | $71,631 | $22,383 | $716,310 | $89,532 | $626,778 |
| Clemson University | SC | $71,513 | $22,253 | $715,130 | $89,012 | $626,118 |
| University at Buffalo | NY | $70,814 | $20,995 | $708,140 | $83,980 | $624,160 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | MN | $69,020 | $16,778 | $690,200 | $67,112 | $623,088 |
| University of California-Riverside | CA | $67,699 | $14,304 | $676,990 | $57,216 | $619,774 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | NC | $68,758 | $17,303 | $687,580 | $69,212 | $618,368 |
| University of California-Santa Cruz | CA | $68,396 | $17,890 | $683,960 | $71,560 | $612,400 |
| James Madison University | VA | $69,954 | $23,322 | $699,540 | $93,288 | $606,252 |
| University of Miami | FL | $75,328 | $37,244 | $753,280 | $148,976 | $604,304 |
| California State University-Fullerton | CA | $62,951 | $6,555 | $629,510 | $26,220 | $603,290 |
| California State University-Long Beach | CA | $64,403 | $10,440 | $644,030 | $41,760 | $602,270 |
| University of Colorado Boulder | CO | $69,738 | $25,346 | $697,380 | $101,384 | $595,996 |
| University of California-Merced | CA | $64,368 | $11,983 | $643,680 | $47,932 | $595,748 |
| Michigan State University | MI | $67,253 | $19,680 | $672,530 | $78,720 | $593,810 |
| San Diego State University | CA | $64,909 | $15,364 | $649,090 | $61,456 | $587,634 |
| California State University-Los Angeles | CA | $59,211 | $3,967 | $592,110 | $15,868 | $576,242 |
| Indiana University-Bloomington | IN | $63,742 | $16,264 | $637,420 | $65,056 | $572,364 |
| Florida State University | FL | $61,675 | $11,297 | $616,750 | $45,188 | $571,562 |
| Loyola University Chicago | IL | $71,530 | $36,079 | $715,300 | $144,316 | $570,984 |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | $62,668 | $14,967 | $626,680 | $59,868 | $566,812 |
| DePaul University | IL | $68,751 | $30,902 | $687,510 | $123,608 | $563,902 |
| Auburn University | AL | $65,337 | $24,323 | $653,370 | $97,292 | $556,078 |
| Texas Tech University | TX | $62,454 | $19,070 | $624,540 | $76,280 | $548,260 |
| University of Central Florida | FL | $58,308 | $10,411 | $583,080 | $41,644 | $541,436 |
| University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | PA | $66,125 | $30,434 | $661,250 | $121,736 | $539,514 |
| University of South Florida | FL | $57,743 | $9,812 | $577,430 | $39,248 | $538,182 |
| Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | LA | $61,251 | $19,151 | $612,510 | $76,604 | $535,906 |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus | OH | $60,409 | $17,339 | $604,090 | $69,356 | $534,734 |
| University of Arizona | AZ | $59,979 | $16,674 | $599,790 | $66,696 | $533,094 |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia | SC | $62,177 | $22,811 | $621,770 | $91,244 | $530,526 |
| The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | TN | $60,249 | $18,976 | $602,490 | $75,904 | $526,586 |
| University of Oregon | OR | $61,324 | $22,182 | $613,240 | $88,728 | $524,512 |
| Temple University | PA | $63,727 | $28,198 | $637,270 | $112,792 | $524,478 |
| Colorado State University-Fort Collins | CO | $60,543 | $21,279 | $605,430 | $85,116 | $520,314 |
| University of North Texas | TX | $57,010 | $15,649 | $570,100 | $62,596 | $507,504 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | PA | $63,435 | $32,875 | $634,350 | $131,500 | $502,850 |
| The University of Alabama | AL | $59,221 | $22,420 | $592,210 | $89,680 | $502,530 |
| Texas State University | TX | $56,906 | $16,805 | $569,060 | $67,220 | $501,840 |
| Baylor University | TX | $65,793 | $41,104 | $657,930 | $164,416 | $493,514 |
| Northern Arizona University | AZ | $54,384 | $14,158 | $543,840 | $56,632 | $487,208 |
| The University of Tampa | FL | $59,436 | $36,211 | $594,360 | $144,844 | $449,516 |
| University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | OH | $54,810 | $25,648 | $548,100 | $102,592 | $445,508 |
| Miami University-Oxford | OH | $55,076 | $28,384 | $550,760 | $113,536 | $437,224 |
| Southern New Hampshire University | NH | $50,318 | $36,708 | $503,180 | $146,832 | $356,348 |
| Grand Canyon University | AZ | $42,186 | $22,472 | $421,860 | $89,888 | $331,972 |
| Liberty University | VA | $44,813 | $29,357 | $448,130 | $117,428 | $330,702 |
Median earnings ten years after a student entered that college, multiplied by ten, minus four years at the average price paid by students who received aid. Both inputs are from the latest federal file as of October 2026. The earnings include students who did not finish, and they travel with the students a college admits and the majors those students choose as much as with the college.
How the payoff is figured
The payoff is one subtraction. Take the median pay of that college's students ten years after they started, multiply it by ten, then take away four years at the price paid with aid. What is left is the dollars a graduate is ahead by.
We print dollars because a multiple misleads. Pay divided by price rewards a small price no matter what happens to the pay, so it ranks the cheapest college first and marks the highest-earning ones as poor. Dollars cannot do that, and both halves of the subtraction sit in the same row.
What the pay figure can and cannot say
The earnings are a median, measured ten years after a student started at that college, and they include people who left without a degree. They travel with the students a college admits and the majors those students choose as much as with the college itself.
A campus full of engineers and a campus full of teachers will not post the same median, and neither one caused the other's number. So read the payoff beside the pay for the major your kid actually wants.
What a family should do with this
Compare colleges by the dollars, and keep both inputs in view. A payoff built on a very small price is a different thing from one built on high pay. Then check the four-year graduation rate, because four years of cost assumes four years.
Your family's price is probably not the average in this table, so run the college's own calculator and redo the subtraction with your own number. A merit award makes the second half of that subtraction smaller every year it holds.
Questions parents ask
Which college has the biggest payoff?
Stanford University shows the largest payoff among the colleges families apply to most: ten years of pay at $124,080 a year minus four years at $13,807 leaves $1,185,572.
Why not show the payoff as a multiple?
Pay divided by price rewards a small price no matter what happens to the pay, so it ranks the cheapest college first and marks the highest-earning ones as poor.
Does this prove the college caused the pay?
They travel with the students a college admits and the majors those students choose as much as with the college itself.
Method & sources: Payoff is ten years of the College Scorecard's median earnings, measured ten years after a student entered that college, minus four years at the average price paid by students who received aid. The population is the colleges that receive the most applications, ranked by the dollar figure. The earnings include students who did not finish, and they are a median, so half of a college's students earn less. A college's own page may show a newer price than the latest federal file.
This brief as data: /research/payoff-100-colleges.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
Related: What families actually pay at these colleges · Which colleges graduate students in four years · College outcomes: pay, cost and payoff by major · Merit scholarships by score and grade point average