Best Special Education and Teaching 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

172

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

-$147,707

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$29,990

Cost of attendance

# College State 20-Yr Net ROI Median Salary Annual Cost Avg Debt
1 Manhattan University

Grad rate: 69.1%

 NY +$290,787 $70,824 $62,537 $26,329 Full ROI →
2 Seton Hall University

Grad rate: 71.6%

 NJ +$273,606 $70,367 $64,996 $25,000 Full ROI →
3 Northeastern Illinois University

Grad rate: 17.7%

 IL +$250,128 $59,948 $27,208 N/A Full ROI →
4 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Grad rate: 84.8%

 IL +$232,435 $61,326 $32,134 $18,925 Full ROI →
5 Florida International University

Grad rate: 71.3%

 FL +$193,334 $57,130 $20,556 $20,031 Full ROI →
6 University of Maryland-College Park

Grad rate: 88.9%

 MD +$180,868 $56,658 $28,073 N/A Full ROI →
7 University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus

Grad rate: 59.7%

 CT +$166,512 $54,509 $20,917 N/A Full ROI →
8 University of Connecticut-Avery Point

Grad rate: 57.8%

 CT +$163,768 $54,509 $21,603 N/A Full ROI →
9 University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus

Grad rate: 63.9%

 CT +$150,056 $54,509 $25,031 N/A Full ROI →
10 University of Connecticut-Stamford

Grad rate: 59.5%

 CT +$139,232 $54,509 $27,737 N/A Full ROI →
11 University of Nebraska at Omaha

Grad rate: 48.3%

 NE +$130,695 $54,167 $20,446 $22,860 Full ROI →
12 State University of New York at Cortland

Grad rate: 68.5%

 NY +$119,288 $53,247 $26,413 N/A Full ROI →
13 University of Nevada-Las Vegas

Grad rate: 48.7%

 NV +$105,930 $51,927 $19,440 $11,000 Full ROI →
14 University of Connecticut

Grad rate: 83.5%

 CT +$103,892 $54,509 $36,572 N/A Full ROI →
15 Florida State University

Grad rate: 83.9%

 FL +$81,430 $52,341 $23,683 $22,709 Full ROI →
16 University of Hawaii at Manoa

Grad rate: 62.5%

 HI +$80,557 $51,908 $23,832 $16,500 Full ROI →
17 Texas A & M International University

Grad rate: 49.2%

 TX +$67,082 $49,538 $14,767 $18,229 Full ROI →
18 Kean University

Grad rate: 47.0%

 NJ +$52,714 $51,443 $24,924 $27,000 Full ROI →
19 Georgia Gwinnett College

Grad rate: 19.7%

 GA +$23,628 $46,788 $18,033 N/A Full ROI →
20 Central Washington University

Grad rate: 51.0%

 WA +$10,008 $47,530 $25,148 N/A Full ROI →
21 Towson University

Grad rate: 68.7%

 MD +$6,093 $48,962 $26,621 $19,750 Full ROI →
22 Western Washington University

Grad rate: 65.5%

 WA +$686 $49,672 $28,305 $29,284 Full ROI →
23 Eastern Washington University

Grad rate: 48.4%

 WA +$522 $48,133 $22,772 $23,000 Full ROI →
24 Broward College

Grad rate: 35.4%

 FL -$2,892 $46,845 $24,948 N/A Full ROI →
25 Florida Atlantic University

Grad rate: 63.2%

 FL -$3,376 $46,042 $21,054 N/A Full ROI →
26 East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

Grad rate: 44.8%

 PA -$3,826 $48,505 $24,369 $27,000 Full ROI →
27 Florida Gulf Coast University

Grad rate: 57.3%

 FL -$5,412 $46,931 $18,269 $22,931 Full ROI →
28 West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Grad rate: 70.7%

 PA -$18,036 $46,610 $27,559 N/A Full ROI →
29 Molloy University

Grad rate: 70.4%

 NY -$18,284 $50,736 $48,251 N/A Full ROI →
30 St. John Fisher University

Grad rate: 73.3%

 NY -$24,896 $51,258 $52,514 N/A Full ROI →
31 Northern Illinois University

Grad rate: 51.3%

 IL -$48,176 $46,482 $27,214 $21,452 Full ROI →
32 Rhode Island College

Grad rate: 45.0%

 RI -$52,958 $45,065 $18,490 $29,851 Full ROI →
33 St Petersburg College

Grad rate: 37.9%

 FL -$65,836 $40,835 $10,634 N/A Full ROI →
34 SUNY Buffalo State University

Grad rate: 36.2%

 NY -$68,727 $44,724 $23,171 $22,610 Full ROI →
35 Indiana University-Bloomington

Grad rate: 81.2%

 IN -$71,849 $45,196 $27,361 $19,500 Full ROI →
36 Indian River State College

Grad rate: 44.4%

 FL -$80,616 $40,322 $11,764 N/A Full ROI →
37 Niagara University

Grad rate: 71.2%

 NY -$83,156 $49,632 $50,174 $26,000 Full ROI →
38 Minnesota State University-Mankato

Grad rate: 53.3%

 MN -$83,410 $44,165 $22,565 $27,000 Full ROI →
39 University of South Florida

Grad rate: 74.4%

 FL -$85,484 $42,186 $22,301 N/A Full ROI →
40 Illinois State University

Grad rate: 66.7%

 IL -$85,880 $45,577 $32,458 $20,436 Full ROI →
41 Winona State University

Grad rate: 60.7%

 MN -$87,442 $44,125 $23,373 $27,000 Full ROI →
42 Northeastern State University

Grad rate: 37.6%

 OK -$88,696 $41,420 $19,274 N/A Full ROI →
43 SUNY at Fredonia

Grad rate: 56.6%

 NY -$94,044 $44,119 $25,331 $26,000 Full ROI →
44 University of Wisconsin-Madison

Grad rate: 89.3%

 WI -$102,365 $43,979 $27,770 $22,863 Full ROI →
45 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Grad rate: 62.9%

 WI -$102,834 $42,413 $18,661 $27,000 Full ROI →
46 Gonzaga University

Grad rate: 87.5%

 WA -$103,550 $52,503 $69,290 $27,000 Full ROI →
47 Metropolitan State University of Denver

Grad rate: 29.5%

 CO -$103,696 $42,732 $22,825 $20,027 Full ROI →
48 New Mexico State University-Main Campus

Grad rate: 51.6%

 NM -$104,630 $42,237 $20,930 $19,000 Full ROI →
49 Georgia Southern University

Grad rate: 52.4%

 GA -$106,509 $43,186 $24,563 $23,687 Full ROI →
50 Southern Connecticut State University

Grad rate: 50.5%

 CT -$108,118 $44,135 $28,592 $27,000 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 Special Education and Teaching Degrees by State

Browse Special Education and Teaching programs ranked by 20-year ROI in every state that offers this degree.

Alabama Best Special Education and Teaching → Arizona Best Special Education and Teaching → California Best Special Education and Teaching → Colorado Best Special Education and Teaching → Connecticut Best Special Education and Teaching → Florida Best Special Education and Teaching → Georgia Best Special Education and Teaching → Hawaii Best Special Education and Teaching → Illinois Best Special Education and Teaching → Indiana Best Special Education and Teaching → Kentucky Best Special Education and Teaching → Louisiana Best Special Education and Teaching → Maryland Best Special Education and Teaching → Massachusetts Best Special Education and Teaching → Michigan Best Special Education and Teaching → Minnesota Best Special Education and Teaching → Mississippi Best Special Education and Teaching → Missouri Best Special Education and Teaching → Nebraska Best Special Education and Teaching → Nevada Best Special Education and Teaching → New Jersey Best Special Education and Teaching → New Mexico Best Special Education and Teaching → New York Best Special Education and Teaching → North Carolina Best Special Education and Teaching → Ohio Best Special Education and Teaching → Oklahoma Best Special Education and Teaching → Pennsylvania Best Special Education and Teaching → Rhode Island Best Special Education and Teaching → South Carolina Best Special Education and Teaching → South Dakota Best Special Education and Teaching → Tennessee Best Special Education and Teaching → Texas Best Special Education and Teaching → Utah Best Special Education and Teaching → Virginia Best Special Education and Teaching → Washington Best Special Education and Teaching → Wisconsin Best Special Education and Teaching →