U.S. Cities Where Getting a Graduate Degree Pays Off the Most

Obtaining a graduate degree can be an expensive affair, costing anywhere between $30,000 – $120,000, depending on the school, area of study, and other factors. This is in addition to the cost of a bachelor’s degree.

Given the high expenses of education and the constantly evolving job markets, it’s important to consider the opportunity costs involved in pursuing a graduate degree, especially when weighed against the potential increase in earning potential. Moreover, the additional earning potential of a graduate degree varies widely depending on the location.

To help people across the U.S. determine how much value a graduate or professional degree could add to their financial lives, CEOWORLD magazine ranked 280 metro areas based on the added annual income that someone could expect with a graduate degree when compared with having only a bachelor’s degree.

Key findings

• On average, a graduate or professional degree nets an extra $484,000 over a career. This, when added to a bachelor’s, equates to about $16,000 per year. This assumes a 30-year career in a medium or large metro area. Across the U.S., the average graduate degree holder earns $72,000 annually.
• People with graduate degrees make less than $55,000 annually in these places, and those with graduate or professional degrees make the least in The Villages, FL metro area, where annual pay averages $50,253. Other areas where higher education earns less than $55,000 include Prescott, AZ; Morristown, TN; College Station, TX; Florence, AL; and Jefferson City, MO.
• Graduate degree holders earn less than those with a bachelor’s in these southern cities. Tuscaloosa, AL, and Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY area residents actually see a negative return on their graduate degrees – almost $3,000 per year less than their counterparts with a bachelor’s. A graduate degree may not be worth it in other areas as well, with the pay increase averaging to less than $2,500 in Jefferson City, MO; College Station, TX; and Bloomington, IL metros.
• Those with graduate degrees in the San Jose metro average $150,000 annual income. San Francisco has the second-highest earnings for workers with graduate degrees at $120,000. Those in Seattle, D.C., and the Trenton-Princeton metros also average over $100,000 per year. On the contrary, a graduate degree in the New York City metro only nets $93,000 on average.

Top 10 metro areas with the biggest income boost for a graduate degree:

1. San Jose, CA

The San Jose metro area is home to 362,422 graduate degree holders, a figure representing 26.3% of the population aged 25 and older. People with graduate or professional degrees here also net the highest average annual income of all metro areas – $150,281. This is $48,067 more per year than workers with just a bachelor’s degree.

2. Huntsville, AL

Those with a graduate or professional degree made an average of $98,616 per year, which is $36,139 more than the earnings of a worker with a bachelor’s degree. Roughly 17.7% of adults here have this level of education (61,687 people).

3. Trenton-Princeton, NJ

Just over one in five people in the Trenton-Princeton metro have a graduate degree. This section averages an annual wage of $102,967, the fifth-highest studywide. Here, a graduate degree holder will earn an average of $35,646 more than those with only a bachelor’s degree.

4. St. George, UT

St. George has the lowest average annual income for workers with graduate degrees in the top 10 ($73,872) – nearly 84% higher than the income of someone with just an undergraduate degree. Roughly 17,500 people (14% of the adult population) in this metro have a graduate or professional degree.

5. Merced, CA

In the Merced metro, a graduate degree earns workers an additional $32,731 for an average annual income of $94,532. However, only 4.8% of the adult population here falls into this category – the second-lowest studywide.

6. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA

Residents in the San Francisco metro area are reported to earn the second-most of those with higher degrees at $120,480 per year – $31,449 more than those with a bachelor’s degree. Over three-quarters of a million residents have a graduate or professional degree here, which is 22.4% of the adult population.

7. Provo-Orem, UT

Workers with a graduate degree make almost 60% more per year than those with a bachelor’s degree: $82,607 vs. $51,825. Roughly 14.2% of the adult population (50,950 people) is a part of this group.

8. Visalia, CA

The Visalia metro area has nearly 18,000 residents (6.3% of adults) with graduate or professional degrees. Even so, workers with graduate degrees here earn just about $93,000 annually, i.e., $30,000 more per year than residents with just a bachelor’s degree.

9. Salinas, CA

Workers with graduate degrees in Salinas earn a comparable salary with those in Visalia, averaging $91,160. This is $29,056 more than what a worker with a bachelor’s makes. Roughly 12% of the adult population here holds a graduate degree.

10. Fresno, CA

Workers with a graduate or professional degree in the Fresno metro earn an average of $28,853 more per year than someone with only a bachelor’s degree for a total of $86,422. Over 50,000 people (about 8.3% of adults) chose this path.

Data and methodology

The information for this study is sourced from the 2021 U.S. Census Bureau 1-Year ACS S1501. The study analyzed 281 metropolitan areas with a population of 100,000 or more for individuals aged 25 and above. To determine which metropolitan areas had the highest nominal returns on the investment in a graduate degree, the median income for individuals aged 25 and above with a graduate or professional degree was compared to the median income of individuals with a bachelor’s degree only.

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This report/news/ranking/statistics has been prepared only for general guidance on matters of interest and does not constitute professional advice. You should not act upon the information contained in this publication without obtaining specific professional advice. No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this publication, and, to the extent permitted by law, CEOWORLD magazine does not accept or assume any liability, responsibility or duty of care for any consequences of you or anyone else acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this publication or for any decision based on it.

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