Mathematics: is this bachelor's degree worth it?
National picture across 331 reporting college programs.
MODELED SCENARIO · Negative payoff
−$3,863 over 10 years
National scenario across reporting bachelor's degree programs, using median year-4 earnings, their institutions’ average net prices and a typical 4-year duration.
At these assumptions, the estimated earnings premium does not recover the modeled economic investment within ten years.
10.2 yrsModeled economic break-even
−2%Modeled 10-year ROI
$70,257Observed earnings · year 4
Observed national outcomes
$70,257Median reported earnings · year 4
$74,963Average reported earnings · year 5
$21,589Median federal debt
63thYear-4 earnings percentile at this credential
331Reporting programs
309With year-4 earnings
The same field can produce a different equation.
Keep the federal field fixed and compare observed outcomes at every reportable credential level. These are separate graduate cohorts—not a promise that more schooling causes the difference.
OPEN PROFILE
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma
- Year-4 earnings
- $84,699
- Federal debt
- $27,000
- Reporting programs
- 2
Associate's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $61,557
- Federal debt
- $14,622
- Reporting programs
- 13
Bachelor's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $70,257
- Federal debt
- $21,589
- Reporting programs
- 331
Master's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $70,298
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Reporting programs
- 11
Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification)
- Year-4 earnings
- $75,361
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Reporting programs
- 2
Where the middle half of programs lands
Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.
Median
25th percentile$62,727National median$70,25775th percentile$81,845
309 programs report year‑4 earnings.See the spread, not just the national number.
1Duke University$297,0292Massachusetts Institute of Technology$174,9513University of Chicago$172,8264Dartmouth College$168,5805Vanderbilt University$141,1716Johns Hopkins University$134,7857Cornell University$134,4558Williams College$134,3049Georgetown University$127,76010Northeastern University$125,084Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking
Related occupations
Official CIP–SOC links add career context without claiming that every graduate enters the same job.
Mathematical Science Teachers, PostsecondarySOC 25-1022 · 6 crosswalk linksMathematiciansSOC 15-2021 · 6 crosswalk linksNatural Sciences ManagersSOC 11-9121 · 6 crosswalk linksData ScientistsSOC 15-2051 · 1 crosswalk linksMathematical Science Occupations, All OtherSOC 15-2099 · 1 crosswalk linksSecondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationSOC 25-2031 · 1 crosswalk linksStatisticiansSOC 15-2041 · 1 crosswalk links
Same degree, different outcomes
Compare reported outcomes using the same federal field and credential. ROI uses each institution’s average net price as a scenario—not an individual aid offer.
| # | College | Location | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 10-year ROI | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke UniversityBachelor's Degree | Durham, NC | $297,029 | $13,000 | +744% | Strong payoff |
| 2 | Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyBachelor's Degree | Cambridge, MA | $174,951 | $10,003 | +399% | Strong payoff |
| 3 | University of ChicagoBachelor's Degree | Chicago, IL | $172,826 | $12,000 | +434% | Strong payoff |
| 4 | Dartmouth CollegeBachelor's Degree | Hanover, NH | $168,580 | $11,617 | +315% | Strong payoff |
| 5 | Vanderbilt UniversityBachelor's Degree | Nashville, TN | $141,171 | $10,000 | +295% | Strong payoff |
| 6 | Johns Hopkins UniversityBachelor's Degree | Baltimore, MD | $134,785 | $10,859 | +252% | Strong payoff |
| 7 | Cornell UniversityBachelor's Degree | Ithaca, NY | $134,455 | $14,146 | +203% | Strong payoff |
| 8 | Williams CollegeBachelor's Degree | Williamstown, MA | $134,304 | $13,807 | +256% | Strong payoff |
| 9 | Georgetown UniversityBachelor's Degree | Washington, DC | $127,760 | $17,500 | +141% | Strong payoff |
| 10 | Northeastern UniversityBachelor's Degree | Boston, MA | $125,084 | $21,750 | +164% | Strong payoff |
| 11 | Amherst CollegeBachelor's Degree | Amherst, MA | $124,324 | $14,745 | +190% | Strong payoff |
| 12 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main CampusBachelor's Degree | Atlanta, GA | $122,099 | Not available | +237% | Strong payoff |
| 13 | Columbia University in the City of New YorkBachelor's Degree | New York, NY | $117,252 | Not available | +171% | Strong payoff |
| 14 | Rose-Hulman Institute of TechnologyBachelor's Degree | Terre Haute, IN | $112,187 | $25,000 | +92% | Positive payoff |
| 15 | Southern Methodist UniversityBachelor's Degree | Dallas, TX | $111,773 | $21,000 | +94% | Positive payoff |
| 16 | Boston CollegeBachelor's Degree | Chestnut Hill, MA | $111,072 | $18,025 | +91% | Positive payoff |
| 17 | Villanova UniversityBachelor's Degree | Villanova, PA | $109,851 | $25,454 | +83% | Positive payoff |
| 18 | University of Michigan-Ann ArborBachelor's Degree | Ann Arbor, MI | $109,146 | $21,589 | +176% | Strong payoff |
| 19 | Northwestern UniversityBachelor's Degree | Evanston, IL | $107,072 | $12,418 | +109% | Strong payoff |
| 20 | Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteBachelor's Degree | Troy, NY | $105,768 | $24,250 | +87% | Positive payoff |
| 21 | Bentley UniversityBachelor's Degree | Waltham, MA | $101,971 | $19,334 | +72% | Positive payoff |
| 22 | University of North Carolina at Chapel HillBachelor's Degree | Chapel Hill, NC | $101,599 | $14,500 | +150% | Strong payoff |
| 23 | University of Wisconsin-MadisonBachelor's Degree | Madison, WI | $101,438 | $20,500 | +126% | Strong payoff |
| 24 | Muhlenberg CollegeBachelor's Degree | Allentown, PA | $100,869 | $25,394 | +89% | Positive payoff |
| 25 | University of Washington-Seattle CampusBachelor's Degree | Seattle, WA | $100,127 | $15,501 | +133% | Strong payoff |
| 26 | University of Washington-Bothell CampusBachelor's Degree | Bothell, WA | $100,127 | $15,501 | +140% | Strong payoff |
| 27 | University of Maryland-College ParkBachelor's Degree | College Park, MD | $99,689 | $19,500 | +125% | Strong payoff |
| 28 | University of California, Los AngelesBachelor's Degree | Los Angeles, CA | $99,269 | $14,920 | +136% | Strong payoff |
| 29 | Drexel UniversityBachelor's Degree | Philadelphia, PA | $98,709 | $30,899 | +61% | Positive payoff |
| 30 | Washington University in St LouisBachelor's Degree | St. Louis, MO | $98,497 | $18,700 | +100% | Strong payoff |
| 31 | College of the Holy CrossBachelor's Degree | Worcester, MA | $96,927 | $27,000 | +55% | Positive payoff |
| 32 | New Jersey Institute of TechnologyBachelor's Degree | Newark, NJ | $94,840 | $26,190 | +103% | Strong payoff |
| 33 | Spelman CollegeBachelor's Degree | Atlanta, GA | $94,634 | Not available | +48% | Positive payoff |
| 34 | University of RochesterBachelor's Degree | Rochester, NY | $94,178 | $22,500 | +66% | Positive payoff |
| 35 | Fordham UniversityBachelor's Degree | Bronx, NY | $93,224 | $26,949 | +35% | Positive payoff |
| 36 | University of FloridaBachelor's Degree | Gainesville, FL | $93,022 | $16,675 | +133% | Strong payoff |
| 37 | North Carolina State University at RaleighBachelor's Degree | Raleigh, NC | $92,594 | $21,256 | +91% | Positive payoff |
| 38 | University of Notre DameBachelor's Degree | Notre Dame, IN | $92,118 | $19,000 | +64% | Positive payoff |
| 39 | Macalester CollegeBachelor's Degree | Saint Paul, MN | $91,979 | $22,483 | +52% | Positive payoff |
| 40 | New York UniversityBachelor's Degree | New York, NY | $91,832 | $19,500 | +43% | Positive payoff |
| 41 | The College of New JerseyBachelor's Degree | Ewing, NJ | $91,736 | $26,000 | +61% | Positive payoff |
| 42 | Temple UniversityBachelor's Degree | Philadelphia, PA | $91,330 | $22,500 | +58% | Positive payoff |
| 43 | University of Virginia-Main CampusBachelor's Degree | Charlottesville, VA | $91,236 | $19,500 | +74% | Positive payoff |
| 44 | University of Colorado BoulderBachelor's Degree | Boulder, CO | $90,635 | $20,960 | +62% | Positive payoff |
| 45 | Providence CollegeBachelor's Degree | Providence, RI | $90,503 | $27,000 | +22% | Positive payoff |
| 46 | DePaul UniversityBachelor's Degree | Chicago, IL | $89,908 | $26,154 | +48% | Positive payoff |
| 47 | Baylor UniversityBachelor's Degree | Waco, TX | $89,618 | $25,000 | +30% | Positive payoff |
| 48 | Indiana University-BloomingtonBachelor's Degree | Bloomington, IN | $89,112 | $22,000 | +80% | Positive payoff |
| 49 | University of Maryland-Baltimore CountyBachelor's Degree | Baltimore, MD | $88,967 | $16,875 | +79% | Positive payoff |
| 50 | St Lawrence UniversityBachelor's Degree | Canton, NY | $88,586 | $25,000 | +48% | Positive payoff |
| 51 | The University of Texas at AustinBachelor's Degree | Austin, TX | $88,434 | $20,500 | +67% | Positive payoff |
| 52 | Occidental CollegeBachelor's Degree | Los Angeles, CA | $88,080 | Not available | +29% | Positive payoff |
| 53 | St Olaf CollegeBachelor's Degree | Northfield, MN | $87,691 | $23,000 | +55% | Positive payoff |
| 54 | William & MaryBachelor's Degree | Williamsburg, VA | $87,170 | $20,750 | +64% | Positive payoff |
| 55 | The College of WoosterBachelor's Degree | Wooster, OH | $86,578 | $27,000 | +52% | Positive payoff |
| 56 | Augsburg UniversityBachelor's Degree | Minneapolis, MN | $86,446 | $26,452 | +50% | Positive payoff |
| 57 | Hofstra UniversityBachelor's Degree | Hempstead, NY | $86,077 | $20,285 | +30% | Positive payoff |
| 58 | Adelphi UniversityBachelor's Degree | Garden City, NY | $86,028 | Not available | +35% | Positive payoff |
| 59 | CUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegeBachelor's Degree | New York, NY | $85,820 | $13,750 | +112% | Strong payoff |
| 60 | Brandeis UniversityBachelor's Degree | Waltham, MA | $85,681 | $26,559 | +26% | Positive payoff |
| 61 | University of California, Santa BarbaraBachelor's Degree | Santa Barbara, CA | $85,391 | $17,000 | +65% | Positive payoff |
| 62 | Boston UniversityBachelor's Degree | Boston, MA | $84,784 | $19,750 | +43% | Positive payoff |
| 63 | Fairfield UniversityBachelor's Degree | Fairfield, CT | $84,078 | $27,000 | +5% | Positive payoff |
| 64 | University of Massachusetts-AmherstBachelor's Degree | Amherst, MA | $83,338 | $23,250 | +42% | Positive payoff |
| 65 | Hamilton CollegeBachelor's Degree | Clinton, NY | $83,211 | $16,275 | +29% | Positive payoff |
| 66 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoBachelor's Degree | San Luis Obispo, CA | $83,187 | $16,718 | +55% | Positive payoff |
| 67 | University of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireBachelor's Degree | Eau Claire, WI | $83,027 | $24,937 | +54% | Positive payoff |
| 68 | University of Mary WashingtonBachelor's Degree | Fredericksburg, VA | $82,677 | $24,475 | +43% | Positive payoff |
| 69 | Binghamton UniversityBachelor's Degree | Vestal, NY | $82,492 | $19,725 | +41% | Positive payoff |
| 70 | Clemson UniversityBachelor's Degree | Clemson, SC | $82,450 | $22,500 | +39% | Positive payoff |
| 71 | Ursinus CollegeBachelor's Degree | Collegeville, PA | $82,419 | Not available | +24% | Positive payoff |
| 72 | University of IowaBachelor's Degree | Iowa City, IA | $82,411 | $21,738 | +38% | Positive payoff |
| 73 | University of OregonBachelor's Degree | Eugene, OR | $82,191 | $15,475 | +38% | Positive payoff |
| 74 | Syracuse UniversityBachelor's Degree | Syracuse, NY | $81,941 | $27,000 | +10% | Positive payoff |
| 75 | Ohio State University-Main CampusBachelor's Degree | Columbus, OH | $81,909 | $20,500 | +48% | Positive payoff |
| 76 | University of Minnesota-Twin CitiesBachelor's Degree | Minneapolis, MN | $81,864 | $22,095 | +49% | Positive payoff |
| 77 | Rutgers University-CamdenBachelor's Degree | Camden, NJ | $81,845 | $23,000 | +45% | Positive payoff |
| 78 | Rutgers University-New BrunswickBachelor's Degree | New Brunswick, NJ | $81,845 | $23,000 | +33% | Positive payoff |
| 79 | Rutgers University-NewarkBachelor's Degree | Newark, NJ | $81,845 | $23,000 | +42% | Positive payoff |
| 80 | University of Missouri-ColumbiaBachelor's Degree | Columbia, MO | $81,518 | $18,500 | +40% | Positive payoff |
| 81 | Liberty UniversityBachelor's Degree | Lynchburg, VA | $81,095 | $27,500 | +21% | Positive payoff |
| 82 | University of California, BerkeleyBachelor's Degree | Berkeley, CA | $80,654 | $20,500 | +52% | Positive payoff |
| 83 | Seattle UniversityBachelor's Degree | Seattle, WA | $80,592 | $23,281 | +12% | Positive payoff |
| 84 | CUNY Hunter CollegeBachelor's Degree | New York, NY | $80,308 | Not available | +84% | Positive payoff |
| 85 | California State University, FullertonBachelor's Degree | Fullerton, CA | $80,055 | Not available | +70% | Positive payoff |
| 86 | Kennesaw State UniversityBachelor's Degree | Kennesaw, GA | $79,833 | Not available | +45% | Positive payoff |
| 87 | University of Nebraska-LincolnBachelor's Degree | Lincoln, NE | $79,251 | $19,261 | +36% | Positive payoff |
| 88 | University of California, San DiegoBachelor's Degree | La Jolla, CA | $79,015 | $16,250 | +48% | Positive payoff |
| 89 | Arizona State University Campus ImmersionBachelor's Degree | Tempe, AZ | $79,013 | $21,500 | +42% | Positive payoff |
| 90 | University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignBachelor's Degree | Champaign, IL | $78,891 | $20,847 | +43% | Positive payoff |
| 91 | University of PortlandBachelor's Degree | Portland, OR | $78,568 | Not available | +15% | Positive payoff |
| 92 | Pacific Lutheran UniversityBachelor's Degree | Tacoma, WA | $78,056 | $20,427 | +28% | Positive payoff |
| 93 | The University of AlabamaBachelor's Degree | Tuscaloosa, AL | $77,899 | $20,000 | +22% | Positive payoff |
| 94 | California State University, ChicoBachelor's Degree | Chico, CA | $77,891 | $15,000 | +38% | Positive payoff |
| 95 | University of LouisvilleBachelor's Degree | Louisville, KY | $77,756 | $18,750 | +30% | Positive payoff |
| 96 | George Mason UniversityBachelor's Degree | Fairfax, VA | $77,519 | $24,000 | +29% | Positive payoff |
| 97 | St. Mary's College of MarylandBachelor's Degree | St. Mary's City, MD | $77,474 | Not available | +28% | Positive payoff |
| 98 | University of California, IrvineBachelor's Degree | Irvine, CA | $77,472 | $19,000 | +37% | Positive payoff |
| 99 | Missouri State University-SpringfieldBachelor's Degree | Springfield, MO | $77,471 | $19,922 | +30% | Positive payoff |
| 100 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend CollegeBachelor's Degree | Erie, PA | $77,336 | $25,000 | +16% | Positive payoff |
This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.