As of the June 2026 data, 6,232 US colleges enroll 14.5 million undergraduates and 3.33 million graduate students. The median public 4-year college costs $12,792 a year after grants (private nonprofit: $22,320). At the median college, former students earn $40,813 a year 10 years after they started.
Updated Oct 10, 2026 · June 2026 data
Colleges
6,232
2,987 4-year, 1,545 2-year, 1,700 shorter.
Operating now, United States
Students
17.8M
14.5M undergraduates and 3.33M graduate students.
Enrolled, all colleges
Median net price
$17,138
Public 4-year $12,792, private nonprofit 4-year $22,320.
A year, after grants, median college
Median student debt
$13,271
Federal loans of students who completed. Median repayment rate 45%.
At graduation, median college
Median earnings
$40,813
Highest: Massachusetts Institute of Technology $143,372.
10 years after starting, median college
Completion rate
58%
Finish within 150% of the normal time. 75% come back for a second year.
First-time full-time students, median college
Where the colleges and students are, and what they cost and pay.
Colleges operating now. Click a state to list its colleges.
The top 25 by cost, pay, value and selectivity.
Average yearly cost after grants and scholarships, lowest first. 4-year colleges with at least 500 undergraduates.
| # | College | Net price | Earnings | Completion | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moorpark CollegeMoorpark, CA · Public 4-year | -$2,296 | $49,044 | 44% | 12,082 |
| 2 | Henry Ford CollegeDearborn, MI · Public 4-year | $660 | $34,795 | 17% | 8,643 |
| 3 | North Florida CollegeMadison, FL · Public 4-year | $804 | $33,929 | 59% | 793 |
| 4 | Chipola CollegeMarianna, FL · Public 4-year | $1,133 | $37,378 | 53% | 1,312 |
| 5 | Texas A&M University-Central TexasKilleen, TX · Public 4-year | $1,300 | - | - | 1,750 |
| 6 | College of the MainlandTexas City, TX · Public 4-year | $1,342 | $39,639 | 31% | 3,368 |
| 7 | St Petersburg CollegeSt. Petersburg, FL · Public 4-year | $1,471 | $42,557 | 38% | 18,950 |
| 8 | Skyline CollegeSan Bruno, CA · Public 4-year | $1,738 | $55,702 | 44% | 7,620 |
| 9 | South Texas CollegeMcAllen, TX · Public 4-year | $1,751 | $36,788 | 27% | 15,856 |
| 10 | West Virginia University at ParkersburgParkersburg, WV · Public 4-year | $1,807 | $35,171 | 9.1% | 1,868 |
Bachelor's degrees by median earnings one year after graduation.
| # | Major | Colleges | Earnings 1 yr | Middle half | Earnings 4 yr | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering | 12 | $92,559 | $76K to $100K | $100,378 | $27,000 |
| 2 | Operations Research | 15 | $92,531 | $77K to $99K | $145,296 | $15,998 |
| 3 | Mathematics and Computer Science | 85 | $89,651 | $68K to $110K | $137,218 | $22,250 |
| 4 | Mining and Mineral Engineering | 16 | $85,897 | $83K to $87K | $95,707 | $24,903 |
| 5 | Marine Transportation | 7 | $84,187 | $81K to $87K | $117,176 | $23,703 |
| 6 | Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering | 40 | $80,491 | $73K to $82K | $105,016 | $27,000 |
| 7 | Systems Engineering | 33 | $79,942 | $66K to $84K | $114,815 | $20,500 |
| 8 | Computer Engineering | 380 | $79,205 | $72K to $85K | $105,753 | $23,000 |
| 9 | Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | 410 | $77,636 | $74K to $81K | $98,640 | $23,074 |
| 10 | Construction Engineering | 36 | $75,998 | $72K to $80K | $101,108 | $24,696 |
| 11 | Metallurgical Engineering | 10 | $75,484 | $67K to $79K | $92,016 | $26,372 |
| 12 | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 1,246 | $75,063 | $70K to $81K | $86,250 | $22,992 |
| 13 | Industrial Engineering | 141 | $74,787 | $70K to $78K | $97,790 | $24,312 |
| 14 | Nuclear Engineering | 23 | $74,132 | $70K to $78K | $96,752 | $21,963 |
| 15 | Materials Engineering | 65 | $74,110 | $67K to $76K | $91,799 | $22,556 |
| 16 | Engineering Science | 60 | $73,720 | $69K to $80K | $90,246 | $21,249 |
| 17 | Architectural Engineering | 30 | $73,510 | $73K to $76K | $87,298 | $25,508 |
| 18 | Engineering, Other | 73 | $73,153 | $68K to $76K | $94,278 | $22,500 |
| 19 | Chemical Engineering | 188 | $73,072 | $68K to $79K | $96,798 | $22,732 |
| 20 | Building/Construction Finishing, Management, and Inspection | 14 | $72,864 | $69K to $77K | $88,899 | $20,375 |
| 21 | Construction Management | 98 | $72,746 | $69K to $76K | $93,431 | $22,813 |
| 22 | Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering | 76 | $72,408 | $70K to $76K | $96,510 | $23,694 |
| 23 | Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology | 98 | $72,338 | $59K to $77K | $123,320 | $18,000 |
| 24 | Construction Engineering Technology/Technician | 70 | $72,240 | $67K to $78K | $92,524 | $22,479 |
| 25 | Manufacturing Engineering | 37 | $72,154 | $69K to $76K | $88,690 | $20,988 |
Example college pages: Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Moorpark College · Berea College
DataPorium shows what every US college costs, how hard it is to get in, how many students finish, how much they borrow and what former students earn, from official public data (June 2026 release). Each college has its own page with its tuition and net price by year, its programs by field of study with debt and earnings, and how it compares with the colleges of its state and the whole country.
Net price is the average yearly cost for first-time, full-time students who get aid, after grants and scholarships; it is what families usually pay, and it is lower than the posted tuition plus housing and books (the cost of attendance). The completion rate is the share of first-time, full-time students who finish within 150% of the normal time, for example 6 years for a 4-year degree. Median debt is the federal student loan debt of students who completed, and earnings are the median yearly pay of former students who work and are no longer enrolled, 6 and 10 years after they started, including those who did not finish.
Debt and earnings cover students who received federal student aid and are measured a few years after they leave, in the dollars of the year measured. Programs (a field of study at one credential, for example a bachelor's degree in nursing) show the median debt and earnings of their graduates 1 and 4 years after graduation. Numbers about very few students are withheld for privacy. The same numbers are in the DataPorium API (/colleges) and in the Colleges card of each state on the Local Economy pages.
6,232 colleges and universities operate in the US (June 2026 data): 2,034 public, 1,889 private nonprofit and 2,309 for-profit. They enroll 14.5 million undergraduates and 3.33 million graduate students. California has the most students.
$17,138 a year is the median net price (cost after grants and scholarships) across US colleges. At public 4-year colleges the median is $12,792 and at private nonprofit 4-year colleges $22,320. Posted in-state tuition and fees have a median of $11,837.
$143,372 a year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the highest median pay of former students 10 years after they started, among 4-year colleges with at least 500 undergraduates. It is followed by Samuel Merritt University ($143,238) and Harvey Mudd College ($138,687). The median across all US colleges is $40,813.
$92,559 a year is the median pay one year after graduation of bachelor's programs in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, the highest of any major offered by enough colleges. Next are Operations Research ($92,531) and Mathematics and Computer Science ($89,651).
$13,271 is the median federal student loan debt of graduates across US colleges. It is $19,500 at public 4-year colleges and $24,287 at private nonprofit 4-year colleges.
2.6% of applicants were admitted to California Institute of Technology, the lowest admission rate of US 4-year colleges with at least 500 undergraduates. Next are Minerva University (3.0%) and Stanford University (3.6%).
Net price is the average yearly cost for first-time, full-time students who get financial aid, after grants and scholarships are taken off tuition, fees, housing, food and books. Loans are not taken off, because they have to be paid back. Each college page also shows the net price by family income.