Best Public Policy Analysis 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

+$471,782

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$55,809

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	University of California-Berkeley Grad rate: 93.5%	CA	+$931,024	$92,822	$42,708	N/A	Full ROI →
2	Harvard University Grad rate: 97.5%	MA	+$815,596	$91,064	$82,842	N/A	Full ROI →
3	Georgetown University Grad rate: 95.0%	DC	+$805,648	$90,752	$84,696	N/A	Full ROI →
4	George Mason University Grad rate: 69.9%	VA	+$776,076	$83,501	$26,972	N/A	Full ROI →
5	University of Virginia-Main Campus Grad rate: 95.3%	VA	+$775,676	$84,597	$38,132	N/A	Full ROI →
6	Princeton University Grad rate: 97.3%	NJ	+$712,440	$85,666	$80,440	N/A	Full ROI →
7	Duke University Grad rate: 96.2%	NC	+$693,702	$84,960	$82,749	N/A	Full ROI →
8	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Grad rate: 93.2%	MI	+$677,110	$79,190	$33,345	N/A	Full ROI →
9	George Washington University Grad rate: 85.0%	DC	+$668,526	$83,499	$80,727	N/A	Full ROI →
10	Carnegie Mellon University Grad rate: 92.0%	PA	+$644,892	$82,296	$80,514	N/A	Full ROI →
11	University of Chicago Grad rate: 95.2%	IL	+$639,728	$82,672	$86,856	N/A	Full ROI →
12	University of Maryland-College Park Grad rate: 88.9%	MD	+$627,994	$76,207	$28,073	N/A	Full ROI →
13	American University Grad rate: 79.0%	DC	+$622,422	$80,276	$71,549	N/A	Full ROI →
14	William & Mary Grad rate: 91.0%	VA	+$612,904	$76,757	$41,118	N/A	Full ROI →
15	Stony Brook University Grad rate: 77.8%	NY	+$568,112	$73,323	$29,174	N/A	Full ROI →
16	University of California-Los Angeles Grad rate: 92.6%	CA	+$544,854	$72,907	$36,643	N/A	Full ROI →
17	Brown University Grad rate: 95.5%	RI	+$487,908	$74,894	$84,986	N/A	Full ROI →
18	The University of Texas at Austin Grad rate: 87.7%	TX	+$451,436	$67,556	$29,842	N/A	Full ROI →
19	Pepperdine University Grad rate: 84.4%	CA	+$420,516	$71,546	$85,202	N/A	Full ROI →
20	University of Southern California Grad rate: 92.2%	CA	+$411,924	$71,064	$84,678	N/A	Full ROI →
21	Northeastern University Oakland	CA	+$394,840	$61,742	N/A	N/A	Full ROI →
22	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Grad rate: 84.0%	PA	+$378,666	$64,604	$36,707	N/A	Full ROI →
23	The New School Grad rate: 70.2%	NY	+$367,886	$68,670	$82,757	N/A	Full ROI →
24	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Grad rate: 68.5%	WA	+$328,156	$60,854	$24,462	N/A	Full ROI →
25	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Grad rate: 84.0%	WA	+$316,516	$60,854	$30,282	N/A	Full ROI →
26	Monmouth University Grad rate: 69.2%	NJ	+$305,294	$63,276	$60,113	N/A	Full ROI →
27	University of Wisconsin-Madison Grad rate: 89.3%	WI	+$300,040	$59,779	$27,770	N/A	Full ROI →
28	Vanderbilt University Grad rate: 92.7%	TN	+$272,896	$64,086	$84,412	N/A	Full ROI →
29	Northeastern University Grad rate: 90.8%	MA	+$232,134	$61,742	$81,353	N/A	Full ROI →
30	University of Southern Maine Grad rate: 44.2%	ME	+$213,938	$54,835	$21,381	N/A	Full ROI →
31	Brandeis University Grad rate: 86.7%	MA	+$187,694	$59,597	$82,123	N/A	Full ROI →
32	Walden University	MN	+$161,600	$50,080	N/A	N/A	Full ROI →
33	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Grad rate: 53.7%	OR	+$72,798	$48,386	$27,461	N/A	Full ROI →
34	Oregon State University Grad rate: 70.3%	OR	+$67,868	$48,386	$29,926	N/A	Full ROI →
35	Liberty University Grad rate: 64.5%	VA	+$23,566	$47,349	$41,707	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 Public Policy Analysis Degrees by State

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