Best value among HBCUs, by years to recoup cost

These 37 HBCUs return the cost of attendance fastest: years to recoup the four-year net price from the annual earnings premium a graduate earns over a typical high-school graduate in the same state. Of 37 institutions with the data to compute it, Xavier University of Louisiana (New Orleans, LA) leads, recouping its net cost in about 4.4 yrs.

#	Institution	Years to recoup	Net price / yr	Earnings premium
1	Xavier University of LouisianaLA · Private	4.4 yrs	$17,127	$15,402
2	Hampton UniversityVA · Private	5.7 yrs	$25,319	$17,916
3	North Carolina A & T State UniversityNC · Public	6.1 yrs	$10,846	$7,094
4	Delaware State UniversityDE · Public	6.4 yrs	$13,910	$8,632
5	Winston-Salem State UniversityNC · Public	6.7 yrs	$13,479	$7,998
6	Spelman CollegeGA · Private	7 yrs	$38,967	$22,152
7	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical UniversityFL · Public	7.1 yrs	$13,739	$7,756
8	Prairie View A & M UniversityTX · Public	7.3 yrs	$13,570	$7,455
9	Bowie State UniversityMD · Public	8.2 yrs	$19,298	$9,424
10	Howard UniversityDC · Private	8.7 yrs	$50,539	$23,256
11	Elizabeth City State UniversityNC · Public	9.5 yrs	$6,364	$2,680
12	Morehouse CollegeGA · Private	10.4 yrs	$39,013	$15,048
13	Morgan State UniversityMD · Public	10.7 yrs	$14,985	$5,585
14	North Carolina Central UniversityNC · Public	10.9 yrs	$15,359	$5,622
15	Tuskegee UniversityAL · Private	11.2 yrs	$35,013	$12,485
16	Fayetteville State UniversityNC · Public	11.3 yrs	$7,892	$2,798
17	Southern University and A & M CollegeLA · Public	12.2 yrs	$20,077	$6,589
18	West Virginia State UniversityWV · Public	14.2 yrs	$11,139	$3,140
19	Tennessee State UniversityTN · Public	14.4 yrs	$15,796	$4,383
20	Virginia State UniversityVA · Public	14.7 yrs	$15,840	$4,300
21	Johnson C Smith UniversityNC · Private	15.7 yrs	$20,894	$5,334
22	Huston-Tillotson UniversityTX · Private	15.8 yrs	$19,719	$4,981
23	Albany State UniversityGA · Public	16.8 yrs	$11,898	$2,833
24	Norfolk State UniversityVA · Public	17.9 yrs	$15,282	$3,423
25	Fisk UniversityTN · Private	18 yrs	$32,020	$7,107
26	Grambling State UniversityLA · Public	18.3 yrs	$19,809	$4,327
27	Oakwood UniversityAL · Private	19.3 yrs	$25,669	$5,332
28	Alabama A & M UniversityAL · Public	20.3 yrs	$17,621	$3,472
29	University of Maryland Eastern ShoreMD · Public	20.6 yrs	$13,338	$2,584
30	Claflin UniversitySC · Private	22.9 yrs	$17,800	$3,108
31	Lincoln UniversityPA · Public	23.7 yrs	$14,977	$2,524
32	Bethune-Cookman UniversityFL · Private	25 yrs	$12,030	$1,925
33	Jackson State UniversityMS · Public	25.5 yrs	$23,836	$3,739
34	Coppin State UniversityMD · Public	29 yrs	$9,977	$1,377
35	Clark Atlanta UniversityGA · Private	31 yrs	$37,702	$4,871
36	Dillard UniversityLA · Private	36.6 yrs	$22,094	$2,414
37	Philander Smith UniversityAR · Private	36.8 yrs	$14,224	$1,547

Payback years = (average annual net price x 4) divided by (median earnings 10 years after entry minus the state median earnings of a high-school graduate, U.S. Census Bureau ACS). It is a transparent value signal, not an Ibex endorsement, a guarantee of any individual outcome, or a quality rating. Earnings reflect all students who entered, not only graduates, and net price is the average across income, so an individual’s figures will differ. Schools whose graduates do not out-earn a state high-school graduate, or that do not report net price or earnings, are excluded. Limited to institutions that mainly award bachelor’s or graduate degrees (four years of cost would overstate a certificate or associate program) and enroll at least 400 undergraduates. Per-school detail and peers appear on each institution’s profile.

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Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (2024-25); state earnings baselines from the U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2020-24). Compiled by Ibex Insights. For informational planning only, not financial advice. See the methodology.