Most students go to college to improve their economic prospects, but whether college pays off often depends on the state you live in. A new ranking of state higher education systems by the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP) concludes that, measured by value for money, South Dakota has the nation’s best public colleges. Colleges and universities in the Mount Rushmore State have the highest average return on investment (ROI), a measure of how much the financial benefits of a higher education exceed its cost.
High school graduates who enroll in one of South Dakota’s public colleges can expect a typical lifetime return of $217,000 on their education. In other words, the median South Dakota undergraduate increases her lifetime earnings by $217,000 after subtracting the cost of tuition and time spent out of the labor force while pursuing her degree. That return is nearly twice the national median of $118,000.
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