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

237

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

+$141,631

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$33,915

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	California State University-Los Angeles Grad rate: 52.0%	CA	+$734,194	$80,425	$17,153	N/A	Full ROI →
2	CUNY Brooklyn College Grad rate: 55.8%	NY	+$638,554	$75,285	$13,573	N/A	Full ROI →
3	California State University-Dominguez Hills Grad rate: 46.7%	CA	+$605,562	$73,823	$15,449	N/A	Full ROI →
4	California State University-San Marcos Grad rate: 55.3%	CA	+$573,012	$72,765	$21,144	N/A	Full ROI →
5	California State University-San Bernardino Grad rate: 54.5%	CA	+$565,680	$71,975	$16,910	N/A	Full ROI →
6	CUNY Hunter College Grad rate: 58.7%	NY	+$545,900	$70,626	$13,310	N/A	Full ROI →
7	CUNY City College Grad rate: 56.6%	NY	+$545,852	$70,644	$13,514	N/A	Full ROI →
8	CUNY Lehman College Grad rate: 51.2%	NY	+$538,048	$70,248	$13,456	N/A	Full ROI →
9	Notre Dame de Namur University Grad rate: 39.2%	CA	+$531,840	$68,592	N/A	N/A	Full ROI →
10	CUNY Queens College Grad rate: 58.4%	NY	+$529,814	$69,855	$13,643	N/A	Full ROI →
11	College of Staten Island CUNY Grad rate: 33.7%	NY	+$514,032	$69,110	$14,084	N/A	Full ROI →
12	San Diego State University Grad rate: 78.1%	CA	+$505,386	$70,005	$27,357	N/A	Full ROI →
13	California State University-Fullerton Grad rate: 69.3%	CA	+$504,846	$68,919	$16,767	N/A	Full ROI →
14	California Lutheran University Grad rate: 73.6%	CA	+$494,044	$73,079	$63,768	N/A	Full ROI →
15	St. John's University-New York Grad rate: 68.9%	NY	+$472,678	$71,827	$61,931	N/A	Full ROI →
16	Touro University Grad rate: 66.4%	NY	+$460,052	$68,785	$37,824	N/A	Full ROI →
17	California State University-Northridge Grad rate: 56.1%	CA	+$457,006	$66,882	$20,317	N/A	Full ROI →
18	California State University-Fresno Grad rate: 55.5%	CA	+$446,880	$66,209	$18,650	N/A	Full ROI →
19	St. Joseph's University-New York Grad rate: 66.6%	NY	+$438,152	$67,833	$39,254	N/A	Full ROI →
20	Pace University Grad rate: 61.4%	NY	+$419,416	$69,780	$68,092	N/A	Full ROI →
21	National University Grad rate: 44.0%	CA	+$415,348	$66,479	$37,116	N/A	Full ROI →
22	St. Thomas Aquinas College Grad rate: 58.0%	NY	+$412,650	$67,801	$51,685	N/A	Full ROI →
23	Molloy University Grad rate: 70.4%	NY	+$398,838	$66,767	$48,251	N/A	Full ROI →
24	Long Island University Grad rate: 51.8%	NY	+$397,922	$67,138	$52,419	N/A	Full ROI →
25	Manhattan University Grad rate: 69.1%	NY	+$394,546	$67,981	$62,537	N/A	Full ROI →
26	Bank Street College of Education	NY	+$394,060	$61,703	N/A	N/A	Full ROI →
27	Adelphi University Grad rate: 68.2%	NY	+$385,732	$67,031	$57,444	N/A	Full ROI →
28	University of Alaska Southeast Grad rate: 28.2%	AK	+$383,368	$62,848	$16,796	N/A	Full ROI →
29	Manhattanville University Grad rate: 57.5%	NY	+$382,038	$66,666	$55,641	N/A	Full ROI →
30	Hofstra University Grad rate: 67.4%	NY	+$351,984	$66,429	$68,298	N/A	Full ROI →
31	San Francisco State University Grad rate: 52.2%	CA	+$342,704	$61,661	$25,258	N/A	Full ROI →
32	California State University-Sacramento Grad rate: 55.1%	CA	+$337,632	$61,153	$22,714	N/A	Full ROI →
33	University of West Georgia Grad rate: 43.0%	GA	+$333,932	$61,047	$23,504	N/A	Full ROI →
34	University of San Francisco Grad rate: 72.8%	CA	+$326,458	$65,965	$76,421	N/A	Full ROI →
35	Rhode Island College Grad rate: 45.0%	RI	+$323,900	$60,044	$18,490	N/A	Full ROI →
36	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Grad rate: 84.0%	WA	+$320,896	$61,073	$30,282	N/A	Full ROI →
37	George Mason University Grad rate: 69.9%	VA	+$319,736	$60,684	$26,972	N/A	Full ROI →
38	Kean University Grad rate: 47.0%	NJ	+$319,432	$60,464	$24,924	N/A	Full ROI →
39	State University of New York at New Paltz Grad rate: 71.0%	NY	+$317,812	$60,594	$27,034	N/A	Full ROI →
40	Salem State University Grad rate: 55.2%	MA	+$302,410	$59,882	$27,615	N/A	Full ROI →
41	The College of New Jersey Grad rate: 85.5%	NJ	+$296,820	$60,548	$37,070	N/A	Full ROI →
42	Chapman University Grad rate: 81.9%	CA	+$286,806	$64,473	$81,327	N/A	Full ROI →
43	Rowan University Grad rate: 68.2%	NJ	+$285,968	$59,710	$34,116	N/A	Full ROI →
44	University of Illinois Chicago Grad rate: 60.9%	IL	+$285,544	$58,977	$26,998	N/A	Full ROI →
45	Concordia University-Chicago Grad rate: 47.7%	IL	+$277,616	$60,306	$44,252	N/A	Full ROI →
46	Fordham University Grad rate: 81.8%	NY	+$271,838	$63,327	$77,351	N/A	Full ROI →
47	Sam Houston State University Grad rate: 55.6%	TX	+$270,486	$57,976	$24,517	N/A	Full ROI →
48	Teachers College at Columbia University	NY	+$268,900	$55,445	N/A	N/A	Full ROI →
49	St. Thomas University Grad rate: 43.1%	FL	+$262,356	$60,094	$49,762	N/A	Full ROI →
50	Holy Family University Grad rate: 59.5%	PA	+$261,910	$58,992	$38,965	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 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.