Best Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations 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

-$131,462

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$39,477

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	Brown University Grad rate: 95.5%	RI	+$616,336	$91,029	$84,986	$18,000	Full ROI →
2	Rider University Grad rate: 64.8%	NJ	+$335,412	$69,567	$53,982	N/A	Full ROI →
3	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Grad rate: 84.0%	WA	+$335,252	$64,819	$30,282	N/A	Full ROI →
4	University of Arizona Grad rate: 66.9%	AZ	+$198,779	$59,265	$28,543	$23,962	Full ROI →
5	Washington State University Grad rate: 62.0%	WA	+$195,676	$57,219	$27,176	N/A	Full ROI →
6	Drexel University Grad rate: 77.6%	PA	+$167,092	$65,388	$75,167	N/A	Full ROI →
7	Baylor University Grad rate: 80.8%	TX	+$154,683	$65,068	$70,130	$19,375	Full ROI →
8	Syracuse University Grad rate: 82.4%	NY	+$106,423	$65,179	$80,396	$26,350	Full ROI →
9	Kansas State University Grad rate: 69.5%	KS	+$60,018	$51,526	$25,441	$21,287	Full ROI →
10	University of North Dakota Grad rate: 63.2%	ND	+$50,840	$51,213	$24,580	$26,000	Full ROI →
11	University of St Thomas Grad rate: 77.3%	MN	+$31,099	$57,943	$64,684	$21,500	Full ROI →
12	Loyola Marymount University Grad rate: 80.6%	CA	+$27,597	$59,937	$75,867	$20,500	Full ROI →
13	Eastern Michigan University Grad rate: 45.5%	MI	+$26,748	$48,971	$28,168	N/A	Full ROI →
14	Kent State University at Kent Grad rate: 65.1%	OH	+$23,190	$50,716	$29,345	$25,000	Full ROI →
15	University of Dayton Grad rate: 81.4%	OH	-$16,747	$55,767	$64,310	$25,813	Full ROI →
16	Central Michigan University Grad rate: 61.8%	MI	-$49,430	$46,645	$26,470	$27,000	Full ROI →
17	Brigham Young University Grad rate: 80.4%	UT	-$51,136	$43,619	$20,879	N/A	Full ROI →
18	University of North Texas Grad rate: 59.2%	TX	-$53,742	$45,714	$25,470	$19,365	Full ROI →
19	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College Grad rate: 72.8%	NY	-$62,539	$42,151	$13,521	$8,500	Full ROI →
20	University of San Francisco Grad rate: 72.8%	CA	-$69,280	$55,360	$76,421	$22,812	Full ROI →
21	South Dakota State University Grad rate: 59.5%	SD	-$70,505	$44,784	$22,761	$26,031	Full ROI →
22	Temple University Grad rate: 76.3%	PA	-$78,153	$47,689	$39,799	$24,250	Full ROI →
23	Kennesaw State University Grad rate: 47.2%	GA	-$95,852	$42,131	$24,618	N/A	Full ROI →
24	Northern Kentucky University Grad rate: 49.2%	KY	-$112,784	$40,255	$19,471	N/A	Full ROI →
25	Belmont University Grad rate: 72.1%	TN	-$116,140	$48,289	$60,480	N/A	Full ROI →
26	University of Houston Grad rate: 64.0%	TX	-$132,689	$41,126	$25,056	$11,100	Full ROI →
27	The University of Texas at San Antonio Grad rate: 52.3%	TX	-$146,996	$38,945	$21,474	N/A	Full ROI →
28	Quinnipiac University Grad rate: 77.3%	CT	-$151,874	$50,162	$69,666	$27,000	Full ROI →
29	Bryant University Grad rate: 81.5%	RI	-$162,284	$47,471	$67,926	N/A	Full ROI →
30	Wichita State University Grad rate: 51.5%	KS	-$172,596	$37,583	$21,064	N/A	Full ROI →
31	University of Vermont Grad rate: 77.2%	VT	-$184,422	$41,228	$35,116	$21,125	Full ROI →
32	Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Grad rate: 81.0%	PA	-$197,112	$45,247	$65,513	N/A	Full ROI →
33	University of Hawaii at Manoa Grad rate: 62.5%	HI	-$197,608	$36,886	$23,832	N/A	Full ROI →
34	Clarkson University Grad rate: 73.0%	NY	-$199,474	$49,139	$76,451	$27,000	Full ROI →
35	Lamar University Grad rate: 37.4%	TX	-$209,422	$37,569	$21,626	$25,406	Full ROI →
36	Johnson & Wales University-Online	RI	-$209,985	$38,295	$25,365	$25,500	Full ROI →
37	Buena Vista University Grad rate: 52.3%	IA	-$210,610	$43,790	$52,490	$27,000	Full ROI →
38	Fashion Institute of Technology Grad rate: 83.3%	NY	-$220,793	$38,223	$29,732	$19,500	Full ROI →
39	Middle Tennessee State University Grad rate: 54.3%	TN	-$228,656	$35,118	$22,754	N/A	Full ROI →
40	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Grad rate: 57.9%	NC	-$230,912	$34,380	$19,628	N/A	Full ROI →
41	Grand Canyon University Grad rate: 44.0%	AZ	-$236,142	$38,314	$31,493	$27,000	Full ROI →
42	Suffolk University Grad rate: 60.1%	MA	-$262,338	$43,270	$62,822	$27,000	Full ROI →
43	California State University-San Bernardino Grad rate: 54.5%	CA	-$277,457	$32,859	$16,910	$19,998	Full ROI →
44	Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte Grad rate: 52.4%	NC	-$332,481	$38,295	$55,989	$25,500	Full ROI →
45	Johnson & Wales University-Providence Grad rate: 56.9%	RI	-$341,845	$38,295	$58,330	$25,500	Full ROI →
46	University of South Florida Grad rate: 74.4%	FL	-$363,484	$28,286	$22,301	N/A	Full ROI →
47	Pace University Grad rate: 61.4%	NY	-$403,868	$35,425	$68,092	N/A	Full ROI →
48	Ashford University Grad rate: 9.3%	CA	-$473,015	$27,657	$30,866	$46,438	Full ROI →
49	Inter American University of Puerto Rico-San German Grad rate: 42.7%	PR	-$534,248	$18,376	$15,442	N/A	Full ROI →
50	Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Fajardo Grad rate: 34.6%	PR	-$570,504	$16,473	$14,991	N/A	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 Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Degrees by State

Browse Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations programs ranked by 20-year ROI in every state that offers this degree.