Best Architecture Degrees in the US by ROI

Top colleges ranked by estimated 20-year net return on investment across all active states. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Programs Analyzed

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

+$59,718

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$40,732

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	Kansas State University Grad rate: 69.5%	KS	+$353,516	$64,764	$25,441	N/A	Full ROI →
2	University of Utah Grad rate: 64.2%	UT	+$328,704	$62,795	$21,799	N/A	Full ROI →
3	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo Grad rate: 85.3%	CA	+$277,663	$63,723	$29,918	$27,500	Full ROI →
4	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Grad rate: 55.7%	FL	+$273,522	$62,308	$24,047	$27,000	Full ROI →
5	Boston Architectural College Grad rate: 31.2%	MA	+$250,982	$67,570	$47,152	$53,192	Full ROI →
6	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Grad rate: 66.5%	CA	+$243,432	$60,596	$22,672	$28,000	Full ROI →
7	North Dakota State University-Main Campus Grad rate: 63.4%	ND	+$234,426	$60,222	$23,391	$27,000	Full ROI →
8	Auburn University Grad rate: 80.0%	AL	+$201,432	$60,842	$34,402	$28,000	Full ROI →
9	California College of the Arts Grad rate: 65.7%	CA	+$184,024	$66,934	$78,664	N/A	Full ROI →
10	The University of Texas at Austin Grad rate: 87.7%	TX	+$173,522	$58,062	$29,842	$21,000	Full ROI →
11	New Jersey Institute of Technology Grad rate: 73.4%	NJ	+$167,088	$56,800	$32,228	N/A	Full ROI →
12	University of Maryland-College Park Grad rate: 88.9%	MD	+$167,085	$57,498	$28,073	$22,654	Full ROI →
13	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Grad rate: 86.3%	VA	+$165,990	$58,665	$32,040	$29,000	Full ROI →
14	University at Buffalo Grad rate: 73.5%	NY	+$152,655	$56,984	$29,043	$22,854	Full ROI →
15	University of Notre Dame Grad rate: 96.6%	IN	+$145,750	$67,248	$80,211	$28,419	Full ROI →
16	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Grad rate: 75.7%	OK	+$136,908	$54,612	$28,833	N/A	Full ROI →
17	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Grad rate: 84.0%	WA	+$135,680	$56,219	$30,282	$20,423	Full ROI →
18	Kennesaw State University Grad rate: 47.2%	GA	+$134,798	$55,756	$24,618	$31,000	Full ROI →
19	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Grad rate: 45.6%	CO	+$130,414	$54,747	$23,369	$23,000	Full ROI →
20	University of Oregon Grad rate: 72.5%	OR	+$128,871	$56,287	$32,636	$19,500	Full ROI →
21	New York Institute of Technology Grad rate: 55.4%	NY	+$124,640	$58,957	$53,625	N/A	Full ROI →
22	University of Idaho Grad rate: 61.0%	ID	+$123,569	$54,393	$22,669	$24,900	Full ROI →
23	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Grad rate: 65.4%	NE	+$122,036	$54,925	$25,341	$26,000	Full ROI →
24	University of San Francisco Grad rate: 72.8%	CA	+$119,946	$65,104	$76,421	$27,000	Full ROI →
25	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Grad rate: 71.8%	OH	+$119,938	$55,279	$28,783	$22,600	Full ROI →
26	Iowa State University Grad rate: 75.0%	IA	+$113,114	$54,410	$23,309	$31,000	Full ROI →
27	University of Houston Grad rate: 64.0%	TX	+$111,578	$54,362	$25,056	$26,250	Full ROI →
28	Mississippi State University Grad rate: 63.0%	MS	+$107,802	$54,867	$26,922	$31,000	Full ROI →
29	Lawrence Technological University Grad rate: 64.2%	MI	+$104,796	$58,093	$54,266	N/A	Full ROI →
30	Wentworth Institute of Technology Grad rate: 68.7%	MA	+$100,910	$59,739	$55,030	$25,000	Full ROI →
31	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Grad rate: 52.1%	NM	+$100,848	$51,237	$20,973	N/A	Full ROI →
32	University of California-Berkeley Grad rate: 93.5%	CA	+$97,878	$56,448	$42,708	$15,000	Full ROI →
33	Texas A&M University-College Station Grad rate: 83.7%	TX	+$92,752	$54,301	$32,085	$18,465	Full ROI →
34	Washington State University Grad rate: 62.0%	WA	+$85,396	$51,705	$27,176	N/A	Full ROI →
35	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Grad rate: 84.8%	IL	+$80,024	$52,428	$32,134	N/A	Full ROI →
36	Florida Atlantic University Grad rate: 63.2%	FL	+$77,592	$52,166	$21,054	$30,749	Full ROI →
37	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Grad rate: 68.8%	NC	+$77,074	$52,083	$22,034	$27,000	Full ROI →
38	Syracuse University Grad rate: 82.4%	NY	+$75,396	$61,849	$80,396	N/A	Full ROI →
39	Rhode Island School of Design Grad rate: 89.8%	RI	+$74,272	$61,485	$78,857	N/A	Full ROI →
40	South Dakota State University Grad rate: 59.5%	SD	+$72,906	$52,020	$22,761	$27,000	Full ROI →
41	Tulane University of Louisiana Grad rate: 88.2%	LA	+$70,336	$62,269	$83,761	N/A	Full ROI →
42	The University of Texas at Arlington Grad rate: 55.1%	TX	+$69,407	$52,112	$25,265	$23,535	Full ROI →
43	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Grad rate: 70.4%	LA	+$64,113	$53,860	$34,328	$26,500	Full ROI →
44	University of Arizona Grad rate: 66.9%	AZ	+$52,588	$50,338	$28,543	N/A	Full ROI →
45	Carnegie Mellon University Grad rate: 92.0%	PA	+$49,124	$60,559	$80,514	N/A	Full ROI →
46	University of Virginia-Main Campus Grad rate: 95.3%	VA	+$41,459	$53,317	$38,132	$23,965	Full ROI →
47	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Grad rate: 92.4%	GA	+$39,812	$51,453	$27,797	$28,192	Full ROI →
48	University of Southern California Grad rate: 92.2%	CA	+$37,148	$60,793	$84,678	N/A	Full ROI →
49	Drury University Grad rate: 64.8%	MO	+$36,426	$55,332	$47,091	$31,000	Full ROI →
50	Ball State University Grad rate: 63.6%	IN	+$35,959	$50,760	$25,134	$28,670	Full ROI →

How ROI is calculated

20-Year Net ROI = Gross Earnings (salary × 20) − Total Degree Cost − Debt Payoff (×1.35) − Baseline Opportunity Cost ($42,000 × 20). Data from the U.S. College Scorecard.

Find Best Architecture Degrees by State

Browse Architecture programs ranked by 20-year ROI in every state that offers this degree.