Our economic score ranks programs based on a combination of payback and EarningsPlus. Lower scores are better. Check our methodology page for details and data sources.

Median earnings of all students 10 years after enrollment. Includes students that did not graduate.

EarningsPlus compares student earnings after college against a benchmark that Degreechoices adjusts based on each school’s unique mix of academic programs and the in-state/out-of-state composition of the student body.

Schools are assigned a value from 1-100, where 100 is best for students from households earning up to $30,000. This value is multiplied by the percentage of the school’s student body that received a Pell Grant, to calculate the economic mobility score. A higher score is better. Read the full explanation

The percentage of a school’s student body that has received a Pell Grant.

Payback measures how long it takes the average student to pay back the total cost of attending college with marginal earnings. Marginal earnings are the difference between what the average student would have earned before attending college and what they earn afterwards.

Graduation rates below the school’s state average are shown in red. Schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% nationally (49%) are not  displayed.

The median net cost of students who receive federal financial aid. This is lower than the price advertised by the school.

The total debt accrued by the median student at the time of graduation.

The debt-to-earnings ratio is calculated by dividing student debt upon graduation by the annual salary. A debt to earnings ratio of 1 means that annual educational debt is the same as annual earnings.