The typical young college graduate earned about $50,000 in 2016, well above the typical recent high school graduate’s earnings of $31,800 a year. For those who can afford it, college is a good investment. But not all colleges are the same, and graduates of some institutions are less likely to see the same high return from their years of study and their money spent.

24/7 Wall st. reviewed Department of Education data on the typical expected earnings for students graduating from U.S. News and World Report’s top-ranked colleges and universities. We listed the 50 schools where the expected annual earnings for a graduate was the smallest compared to the overall cost of annual attendance.

The vast majority of the postsecondary institutions to make this list are small, private, liberal arts colleges with hefty price tags. These are schools where the average annual cost of attendance, when accounting for tuition, fees, living expenses, and supplies, is well above $50,000, and in some cases over $60,000 a year. Typical graduates of these school are expected to earn in some cases less than $30,000 annually 10 years out of school, even as those from other schools can expect to earn over twice as much.

In an exchange with 24/7 Wall St. Tom Snyder, director of annual reports and information staff at the National Center for Education Statistics, explained that the choice of major can have a significant impact on expected incomes of colleges graduates.

 

Click here to see the 50 top ranked colleges that pay off the least.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.

50. Hartwick College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $42,800
> Average annual cost of attendance: $51,932
> Location: Oneonta, NY
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,396

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49. Whittier College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $43,100
> Average annual cost of attendance: $52,570
> Location: Whittier, CA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,615

48. College of Wooster
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $45,400
> Average annual cost of attendance: $55,500
> Location: Wooster, OH
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,003

47. Roanoke College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $43,000
> Average annual cost of attendance: $52,588
> Location: Salem, VA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,992

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46. Sewanee–University of the South
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $40,600
> Average annual cost of attendance: $49,700
> Location: Sewanee, TN
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,731

45. Cornell College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $41,200
> Average annual cost of attendance: $50,804
> Location: Mount Vernon, IA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 974

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44. Vassar College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $51,400
> Average annual cost of attendance: $63,390
> Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,424

43. Mount Holyoke College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $46,100
> Average annual cost of attendance: $56,964
> Location: South Hadley, MA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,199

42. Washington College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $45,300
> Average annual cost of attendance: $55,995
> Location: Chestertown, MD
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,479

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41. Erskine College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $37,500
> Average annual cost of attendance: $46,847
> Location: Due West, SC
> Undergraduate enrollment: 614

40. Whitman College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $46,600
> Average annual cost of attendance: $58,228
> Location: Walla Walla, WA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,493

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39. Beloit College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $41,500
> Average annual cost of attendance: $52,181
> Location: Beloit, WI
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,394

38. Furman University
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $45,900
> Average annual cost of attendance: $58,737
> Location: Greenville, SC
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,797

37. Salem College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $32,300
> Average annual cost of attendance: $41,356
> Location: Winston-Salem, NC
> Undergraduate enrollment: 933

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36. Scripps College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $49,700
> Average annual cost of attendance: $63,740
> Location: Claremont, CA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,039

35. Wheaton College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $46,700
> Average annual cost of attendance: $60,040
> Location: Norton, MA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,651

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34. Lawrence University
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $41,700
> Average annual cost of attendance: $53,790
> Location: Appleton, WI
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,532

33. Northland College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $33,000
> Average annual cost of attendance: $42,662
> Location: Ashland, WI
> Undergraduate enrollment: 582

32. Eckerd College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $41,200
> Average annual cost of attendance: $53,423
> Location: St. Petersburg, FL
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,844

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31. Guilford College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $36,200
> Average annual cost of attendance: $47,175
> Location: Greensboro, NC
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,809

30. Occidental College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $49,700
> Average annual cost of attendance: $64,804
> Location: Los Angeles, CA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,062

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29. Wesleyan University
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $49,200
> Average annual cost of attendance: $64,163
> Location: Middletown, CT
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,971

28. Agnes Scott College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $36,500
> Average annual cost of attendance: $48,109
> Location: Decatur, GA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 927

27. Macalester College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $45,300
> Average annual cost of attendance: $59,743
> Location: St. Paul, MN
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,146

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26. Ohio Wesleyan University
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $43,500
> Average annual cost of attendance: $57,422
> Location: Delaware, OH
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,639

25. Lewis & Clark College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $43,600
> Average annual cost of attendance: $57,656
> Location: Portland, OR
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,134

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24. St. Lawrence University
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $46,500
> Average annual cost of attendance: $61,632
> Location: Canton, NY
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,377

23. Hendrix College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $40,600
> Average annual cost of attendance: $54,087
> Location: Conway, AR
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,321

22. Skidmore College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $47,100
> Average annual cost of attendance: $62,750
> Location: Saratoga Springs, NY
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,680

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21. Knox College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $38,200
> Average annual cost of attendance: $50,974
> Location: Galesburg, IL
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,357

20. Grinnell College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $44,300
> Average annual cost of attendance: $59,317
> Location: Grinnell, IA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,699

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19. Pitzer College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $47,100
> Average annual cost of attendance: $63,750
> Location: Claremont, CA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,089

18. Sweet Briar College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $36,800
> Average annual cost of attendance: $50,637
> Location: Sweet Briar, VA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 365

17. Smith College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $44,900
> Average annual cost of attendance: $62,300
> Location: Northampton, MA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,514

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16. The New School
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $43,100
> Average annual cost of attendance: $60,109
> Location: New York, NY
> Undergraduate enrollment: 7,014

15. Kenyon College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $44,300
> Average annual cost of attendance: $62,160
> Location: Gambier, OH
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,708

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14. Wells College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $35,800
> Average annual cost of attendance: $51,038
> Location: Aurora, NY
> Undergraduate enrollment: 00

13. Colorado College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $41,900
> Average annual cost of attendance: $60,500
> Location: Colorado Springs, CO
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,101

12. Hollins University
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $32,200
> Average annual cost of attendance: $49,184
> Location: Roanoke, VA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 654

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11. Earlham College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $34,500
> Average annual cost of attendance: $54,470
> Location: Richmond, IN
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,031

10. Oberlin College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $40,200
> Average annual cost of attendance: $64,396
> Location: Oberlin, OH
> Undergraduate enrollment: 2,895

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9. Reed College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $37,900
> Average annual cost of attendance: $61,795
> Location: Portland, OR
> Undergraduate enrollment: 00

8. Sarah Lawrence College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $39,900
> Average annual cost of attendance: $66,323
> Location: Bronxville, NY
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,438

7. St. John’s College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $34,400
> Average annual cost of attendance: $60,228
> Location: Annapolis, MD
> Undergraduate enrollment: 434

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6. Bard College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $35,900
> Average annual cost of attendance: $64,671
> Location: Annandale-On-Hudson, NY
> Undergraduate enrollment: 1,995

5. Marlboro College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $26,100
> Average annual cost of attendance: $51,590
> Location: Marlboro, VT
> Undergraduate enrollment: 196

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4. St. John’s College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $29,900
> Average annual cost of attendance: $60,058
> Location: Santa Fe, NM
> Undergraduate enrollment: 326

3. College of the Atlantic
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $24,300
> Average annual cost of attendance: $51,471
> Location: Bar Harbor, ME
> Undergraduate enrollment: 337

2. Bard College–Simon’s Rock
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $29,200
> Average annual cost of attendance: $62,869
> Location: Great Barrington, MA
> Undergraduate enrollment: 00

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1. Bennington College
> Graduate median earnings after 10 years: $26,000
> Average annual cost of attendance: $64,019
> Location: Bennington, VT
> Undergraduate enrollment: 711

Detailed Findings & Methodology

In an exchange with 24/7 Wall St. Tom Snyder, director of annual reports and information staff at the National Center for Education Statistics, explained that the choice of major can have a significant impact on expected incomes of colleges graduates.

The latest data released by the National Center for Education Statistics as part of its Digest of Education Statistics shows that median annual earnings for theology, social work, and fine arts majors is less than $40,000 annually. Meanwhile, those in science, technology, engineering, and math fields earn well above the median for all bachelor’s degree holders. Engineers, such as electrical, computer, and chemical engineers, typically earn above $70,000 each year.

Liberal arts institutions such as the ones that make up this list tend to have high representation of majors that lead to jobs that tend to pay less, and offer fewer STEM majors than other types of institutions.

Gender may be another factor contributing to the low wages earned by graduates of the schools on this list. In 2015, 56% of students at degree-granting postsecondary institutions were female, but the share is higher in the majority of the schools on this list, and it is higher than 60% in 12 of the 20 institutions with the worst return on investment. Of the 16 top-ranked women’s colleges and universities listed by U.S. News and World Report, seven are on this list of 50.

According to a study produced by job review site Glassdoor in 2017, women are more likely to select majors with lower expected incomes. The most male-dominated majors, according to Glassdoor, are civil engineering, electrical engineering, and computer engineering, the eighth, third, and second highest paid majors. For example, electrical engineering is the highest paid major listed in the Digest of Education Statistics. It is also, according to Glassdoor, the most male-dominated major, at 74%.

According to Glassdoor, women are also less likely to earn as high wages even as their male counterparts with the same wages. The report found that among the 50 most common majors, women are paid 11.5% less on average than men with the same major.

To identify the 50 top-ranked colleges that produce graduates that earn the least, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the median earnings of former students who received federal financial aid that are working and not enrolled in school 10 years after graduation from the U.S. Department of Education, last updated in 2017. These earnings were then compared with U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 rankings of the best national universities and liberal arts colleges, with the exceptions of United States service academies and Soka University of America, New College of Florida, and Hillsdale College, for which data was not available. Tuition data is for 2016-2017 and was also provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

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