Vermont Business Magazine In its sixth annual study, SmartAsset determined the top states for higher education by analyzing graduation rate, price, student-faculty ratio, 20-year ROI and in-state attendance rate. Vermont cracks the top half of the list, tying with Massachusetts and Wisconsin for 17th place. However, that earned those states an overall grade of only a C+.
It pays to go to college: according to 2017 statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median weekly salary for someone with a bachelor’s degree was $1,173, while it was only $800 for a person with just a high school diploma. But of course, going to college isn’t cheap. There are some states, though, where it is more affordable than others to earn your Bachelor’s degree, and that offer a greater return on investment (ROI). Vermont is one of them.
According to the data that SmartAsset released, the average net price for a four-year public college or university higher education in Vermont is $18,503, which was the second highest in the nation after New Hampshire ($20,699). The graduation rate was 66%, only New Jersey, 69%, and Virginia, 72%, were higher. And the overall in-state attendance rate is 18%.
The 20-year ROI is $305,060, which was below the US average ($338,596). Vermont had a higher student-to-faculty ratio than the US average and a higher in-state attendance rate.
For more about SmartAsset, data and methodology used in this study, and tips for managing your money to pay for higher education, visit https://smartasset.com/checking-account/top-states-for-higher-education-2020.