⌖ Johnson City, TN · 51 reportable field-and-credential outcomes
MODELED SCENARIO · Negative payoff
−$208,592 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
At these assumptions, the estimated earnings premium does not recover the modeled economic investment within ten years.
69.0 yrsModeled economic break-even
−86%Modeled 10-year ROI
$48,534Observed earnings · year 5
Economic ROI includes direct price and earnings forgone during study · $45,000 comparison earnings · values held flat · see the formula
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$208,592at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$243,9320
2
4
6
8
−$208,59210
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
Published in-state tuition$10,472Sticker pricePublished out-of-state tuition$14,522Sticker priceAverage net price$15,983Title IV student averageCost of attendance$27,042Tuition + living budget
OBSERVED FEDERAL MEASURES
Cost, debt, completion and earnings context
$15,983Average net price / year
$27,042Cost of attendance
$19,442Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$206/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$48,534Median earnings · year 5 after completion
53.2%Completion rate
86.2%Admission rate
10,004Student size
Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.
PRICE BY FAMILY INCOME
Average net price is not one price
Federal averages for aided students in each family-income band. Your aid offer can differ.
$0–30k$12,433
$30–48k$14,289
$48–75k$16,400
$75–110k$20,588
$110k+$21,193
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT
What happens beyond the first earnings measure
Year 5$48,534
Year 6$38,704
Year 10$44,859
Full-time retention
75.7%
Part-time retention
62.2%
Completion within 200% of normal time
56.0%
Earnings timepoints may use different historical cohorts and should not be read as one group’s guaranteed salary growth.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
58thEarnings percentile42thCompletion percentile
WHAT STANDS OUT
A faster read on this college
These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.
$53,352Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories$21,819Median federal debt across categories that report debt4%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH
Reported earnings over time
$39,962Year 1
$53,033Year 4
$48,534Year 5
Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.
PROGRAM PAYOFF SPREAD
The college average is not the whole story.
Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.
Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding
BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST
Comparable colleges in TN
Currently operating public institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.
Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.
East Tennessee State University ROI, Cost & Earnings | DegreeVerdict