2013 College ROI Rankings: Best ROI by Region

Got your heart set on a particular state or part of the country? See which schools will give you the best return on your investment in each region of the United States.

*Public school rankings are based on in-state tuition. Out-of-state tuition information can be found on the full list.
west coast schools
West Coast Schools
Rank School Name (PayScale) School Type (IPEDS) 30-Year Net
Return on Investment (ROI)
(2013 Dollars)
1 Harvey Mudd College Private not-for-profit $2,113,000
2 California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Private not-for-profit $1,991,000
3 Stanford University Private not-for-profit $1,432,000
4 Claremont McKenna College Private not-for-profit $1,341,000
5 Santa Clara University Private not-for-profit $1,282,000
6 University of California - Berkeley Public (In-State) $1,182,000
7 California Polytechnic State University (CalPoly) - San Luis Obispo Public (In-State) $1,151,000
8 University of California - San Diego (UCSD) Public (In-State) $1,042,000
9 University of the Pacific Private not-for-profit $1,029,000
10 San Jose State University (SJSU) Public (In-State) $983,000
west coast schools
Mountain Schools
Rank School Name (PayScale) School Type (IPEDS) 30-Year Net
Return on Investment (ROI)
(2013 Dollars)
1 Colorado School of Mines Public (In-State) $1,574,000
2 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) - Prescott, AZ Private not-for-profit $1,122,000
3 DeVry University - Westminster, CO + Private for-profit $1,013,000
4 New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech) Public (In-State) $999,500
5 Montana Tech of The University of Montana Public (In-State) $985,100
6 Brigham Young University (BYU) Private not-for-profit $982,000
7 University of Colorado - Boulder (UCB) Public (In-State) $838,700
8 DeVry University - Phoenix, AZ + Private for-profit $833,400
9 Weber State University Public (In-State) $764,400
10 Utah State University - Main Campus Public (In-State) $762,800
west coast schools
Central South Schools
Rank School Name (PayScale) School Type (IPEDS) 30-Year Net
Return on Investment (ROI)
(2013 Dollars)
1 Rice University Private not-for-profit $1,069,000
2 Texas A&M University - Main Campus Public (In-State) $1,057,000
3 University of Texas (UT) - Austin Public (In-State) $931,100
4 University of Alabama - Huntsville Campus Public (In-State) $903,500
5 Christian Brothers University Private not-for-profit $883,300
6 DeVry University - Irving, TX Private for-profit $864,900
7 Vanderbilt University Private not-for-profit $861,200
8 Southern Methodist University (SMU) Private not-for-profit $818,500
9 Louisiana Tech University Public (In-State) $804,100
10 University of Texas at Dallas Public (In-State) $803,000
west coast schools
Southeast Schools

Rank School Name (PayScale) School Type (IPEDS) 30-Year Net
Return on Investment (ROI)
(2013 Dollars)
1 Georgia Institute of Technology Public (In-State) $1,389,000
2 Duke University Private not-for-profit $1,146,000
3 Johns Hopkins University Private not-for-profit $1,072,000
4 Washington and Lee University Private not-for-profit $1,053,000
5 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) Public (In-State) $1,037,000
6 The College of William and Mary Public (In-State) $1,036,000
7 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) - Daytona Beach, FL Private not-for-profit $988,900
8 University of Maryland - College Park Public (In-State) $934,800
9 Southern Polytechnic State University Public (In-State) $934,500
10 University of Maryland - Baltimore County Campus Public (In-State) $930,200
west coast schools
Northeast Schools

Rank School Name (PayScale) School Type (IPEDS) 30-Year Net
Return on Investment (ROI)
(2013 Dollars)
1 Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) Private not-for-profit $1,622,000
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Private not-for-profit $1,606,000
3 SUNY - Maritime College Public (In-State) $1,586,000
4 Stevens Institute of Technology Private not-for-profit $1,461,000
5 Harvard University Private not-for-profit $1,334,000
6 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Private not-for-profit $1,316,000
7 Massachusetts Maritime Academy Public (In-State) $1,316,000
8 Dartmouth College Private not-for-profit $1,262,000
9 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Private not-for-profit $1,254,000
10 Williams College Private not-for-profit $1,254,000
west coast schools
Midwest Schools

Rank School Name (PayScale) School Type (IPEDS) 30-Year Net
Return on Investment (ROI)
(2013 Dollars)
1 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) Private not-for-profit $1,354,000
2 University of Notre Dame Private not-for-profit $1,250,000
3 South Dakota School of Mines & Technology Public (In-State) $1,228,000
4 Missouri University of Science and Technology (MST) Public (In-State) $1,183,000
5 Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Private not-for-profit $1,127,000
6 Kettering University Private not-for-profit $1,097,000
7 Milwaukee School of Engineering Private not-for-profit $1,051,000
8 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Public (In-State) $1,028,000
9 Michigan Technological University Public (In-State) $999,300
10 DeVry University - Columbus, OH + Private for-profit $990,600
* While PayScale relies upon tuition information from the Department of Education for all schools listed in the PayScale College ROI Rankings, this school has an uncommon cost. Please see the methodology for details on how we accounted for these cost differences.

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