These 3 Mass. colleges have the ‘highest payoff,’ according to Forbes

Three Massachusetts schools have been ranked among Forbes’ picks for the 25 colleges and universities nationwide with the highest payoffs.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, and Williams College all made the list, ranking at 12, 13, and 17, respectively. To determine each college and university’s average return of investment, Forbes reviewed federal data from the 2024-25 academic year.

Factors that contributed to the business outlet’s rankings include how many years it took students to recoup the net cost of their degrees, the percentage of students at each school who took out federal loans, and the median federal loan debt per borrower. The latter two figures were multiplied by each other to determine a figure called the debt-to-percent-borrowed index, according to Forbes.

MIT, the highest ranking Massachusetts school on the list, also stands atop Forbes’ annual list of the 500 best colleges nationwide. Compared to an average cost of $62,396 in tuition and fees, MIT graduates have a median base salary of $131,182 after 10 years, according to the 25-school ranking.

Across both rankings, Harvard isn’t far behind MIT. Taking the third-place spot on Forbes’ best colleges ranking, the university is slightly more affordable but turns out a smaller base salary, with an average cost of $61,676 and a median base salary of $119,078 after 10 years.

Both Cambridge universities might have seemed like safe bets for Forbes’ list, but Williams College, located in Williamstown, was a less obvious contender. However, the third-highest-ranked Massachusetts school on both lists also fared extremely well.

Williams College actually ranked higher on the more recent list, landing at 19th place among the overall best colleges. The school’s average cost came out to $68,560 with a median base salary of $111,600 after 10 years, according to Forbes.