Using the 1-Year ACS S1501 data from the 2021 Census – which scanned 281 metro areas with a 25 and older population of over 100,000 — Smart Asset determined which cities offered individuals the best monetary value after completing a graduate degree.

While departments and degrees determine fees, colleges in America are priced very differently and have been thoroughly scrutinized when it comes to a ROI. By comparing the median incomes of people aged 25 and over, with and without a graduate degree, SmartAsset tried to shed light on set of the differences across America.

Key Takeaways:

• Overall — considering a 30-year career — it's estimated that a graduate degree could add around $484,000, on average, to one's salary over the years while working in a medium, or large, American metro area.

• In two metro areas the average bachelor's pay was higher than the graduate pay: Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and the Elizabeth-Fort Knox metro area, Kentucky.

• In the Bay Area, where bachelor's degree pay is the highest, a graduate degree increases the average salary by 47 percent, whereas in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where bachelor's salaries average around $50,000 and are the lowest, a grad degree bumps up the average by just 11 percent.

Via Smart Asset.

[Photo by Albert Vincent Wu on Unsplash]