New York public universities deliver strong returns on investment, with SUNY Maritime leading state-run networks at $340,000 according to 2025 rankings from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
Georgetown University ROI Rankings
Researchers calculated 10-year return on investment by estimating student earnings a decade after enrollment. They subtracted the typical cost of attendance from those projected earnings using data from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard.
Reported attendance costs cover tuition, fees, and living expenses. These figures factor in minus grants and scholarships for students who received federal financial aid, while public university tuition relies on in-state rates.
SUNY and CUNY colleges provide higher returns than private colleges
Analysis of the rankings shows that State University of New York and City University of New York colleges provide higher 10-year returns than the typical private college in the state. SUNY Maritime holds the highest return in the state-run network with a reported average annual cost of $22,888.
Baruch College reaches $329,000 as the top CUNY for return on investment. Its average annual cost sits at $657, supported by a 48% acceptance rate and many students commuting from nearby to reduce living expenses.
Farmingdale State College posts a return of $274,000 with an average annual cost of $6,146 and a 63% acceptance rate as primarily a commuter school. Meanwhile, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences reaches $492,000, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy hits $453,000.
Did You Know? Baruch College maintains an average annual cost of $657, and many students commute from nearby, reducing living expenses.
Columbia University records high returns while arts colleges show deficits
Columbia University records a 10-year return of $364,000 across academic offerings spanning computer science, economics, political science, psychology, and history. Conversely, arts colleges account for many of the lowest-ranked schools in the state, producing negative estimated returns where earnings are less than attendance costs.
Those with the lowest returns include the Manhattan School of Music at -$134,000, the School of Visual Arts at -$92,000, and The Juilliard School at -$51,000. Jeff Strohl, director of Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce, explained that the data does not capture personal rewards.
“There is a self-fulfillment aspect that isn’t, can’t be monetized,” Strohl said. “So the question that we need to ask is, to the art major, ‘Are you happy?'”
Jeff Breithaupt, the school’s vice president, said that performing and visual arts careers follow unconventional paths. Alumni hold Pulitzer Prizes, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy awards, and achieve accomplishments that “cannot be measured within the first 10 years after enrollment,” Breithaupt said in a statement.
Christopher Cyphers, president of the School of Visual Arts, added that degree value goes beyond datasets. “Measuring the impact of an artist by the income they earn rather than by their crucial contributions,” Cyphers said in a statement, “only reinforces society’s notion that their work is unimportant.”
Juilliard noted in a statement that about 40% of current students attend tuition-free and 95% receive financial aid, limiting student borrowing. Such careers “can take time to develop, with professional opportunities and earnings often growing significantly beyond the first decade after a bachelor’s degree,” Juilliard said in a statement.
Expert Insight: The data highlights a distinct financial trade-off between the lower upfront costs of public commuter campuses and the higher long-term earnings potential tied to specialized private institutions and national labor markets.
Long-Term Earnings Trade-Offs
Rankings highlight a trade-off between lower upfront costs and longer-term earnings. SUNY flagship campuses at Stony Brook University and the University at Buffalo post higher median returns than New York University by roughly $44,000 and $9,000 after 10 years.
Data shows NYU graduates eventually surpass both Stony Brook and Buffalo in return after 15 years. This reflects the private university’s higher long-term earnings despite its greater initial cost.
Strohl said SUNY and CUNY colleges tend to be regionally oriented with graduates staying locally, while other universities feed more into the national labor market where salary swings run higher. Strohl also warned students against relying solely on an overwhelming amount of data.
“A student needs to look at that information and use it to help guide them on tiebreaks,” Strohl said, “help them narrow down their choices a little bit.”
How researchers calculated returns and why arts colleges show deficits
How is 10-year return on investment calculated?
Researchers estimated students’ earnings 10 years after enrollment and subtracted what it cost the typical student to attend using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.
Why do arts colleges show negative estimated returns?
Negative estimated returns mean the earnings associated with those programs during the first decade are less than what it cost to attend them.
How do public and private university earnings compare over time?
While SUNY and CUNY campuses post stronger initial returns due to lower costs, graduates from private institutions like New York University eventually surpass flagship public schools in return after 15 years.
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