UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School’s McColl Building. Courtesy photo
When evaluating one business school against another, there’s a hundred questions you could consider: Which is most likely to help land you a full-time job? Which graduates make the most money right out of the gate? Where do you have the best shot at getting in?
A question you definitely should ask: Will your business degree pay off?
If you’re looking for a good early-career return on your B-school investment, there’s no better school on a dollar-for-dollar basis than University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School – at least for in-state students. In five years, 2024 graduates who paid in-state tuition can expect to earn, on average, about $324,472 more than they paid for the degree.
CALCULATING EARLY CAREER ROI
As part of our annual ranking of the Best Undergraduate Business Schools, P&Q asks programs to report four-year total cost of their degrees as well as the average salary of the most recent graduating classes.
From that, we can calculate the early-career return on investment (ROI) for each ranked program, both in dollars and percentages, with concrete data. While ROI is not factored into our ranking methodology, we believe it to be an important consideration for any prospective students – especially given the soaring costs associated with many elite programs.
To calculate an early-career ROI in dollars, we simply took a five-year salary total and subtracted the estimated four-year total cost of earning the degree. For the ROI percentage, we subtracted total cost (four-year) from total salary (five-year) and divided it by total cost.
(Poets&Quants determined the cost to include tuition and all university fees, as well as room and board, transportation expenses, and books and supplies. Tuition and fees can be calculated fairly easily; living expenses must be estimated. In most cases the schools themselves provided detailed estimates for the latter.)
By a straight dollar-for-dollar comparison, and for the fourth time since 2021, Kenan-Flagler (ranked No. 9 overall) had the highest ROI of any business school in our ranking. In-state resident students can expect to pay about $100,254 if they graduate within four years, but have no scholarship or other financial aid. Class of 2024 graduates reported an average first-year salary of $84,945. That’s an average income of $424,725 over five years, not taking into account any raises or bonuses.
That means UNC Kenan-Flagler in-state grads are bringing in $324,471 more than the cost of the degree after five years on the job. That’s an ROI of 323.7%.
Michigan resident students graduating from University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business (ranked No. 11 overall) nabbed the second highest dollar ROI on our ranking. Ross’ five-year ROI is $310,340, or 191.9%
You can see the schools with the highest early-career return on investment in the chart below.
Highest ROIs For P&Q Ranked Business Schools |
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2025 Rank |
School |
In-State Total Cost (4-year) |
Total Salary (5-year) |
ROI $ |
ROI % |
| 9 | University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) | $100,254 | $424,726 | $324,472 | 323.6% |
| 11 | University of Michigan (Ross) | $161,750 | $472,090 | $310,340 | 191.9% |
| 31 | Binghamton University | $128,176 | $433,390 | $305,214 | 238.1% |
| 19 | University of Illinois (Gies) | $82,252 | $383,710 | $301,458 | 366.5% |
| 32 | University of Washington (Foster) | $92,524 | $383,440 | $290,916 | 314.4% |
| 4 | University of Virginia (McIntire) | $171,140 | $459,190 | $288,050 | 168.3% |
| 15 | Georgia Institute of Technology (Scheller) | $126,440 | $401,105 | $274,665 | 217.2% |
| 23 | Indiana University (Kelley) | $125,213 | $394,045 | $268,832 | 214.7% |
| 88 | Florida International University | $54,309 | $314,525 | $260,216 | 479.1% |
| 47 | Brigham Young University (Marriott) | $114,768 | $363,850 | $249,082 | 217.0% |
HOW SCHOLARSHIPS AFFECT ROI
An important factor to consider in looking at ROI is the amount of scholarships and grants available to students. Sticker price is rarely the amount a student pays.
As part of our ranking, we asked schools to provide the percentage of incoming Fall 2024 business students that received scholarship support including merit- and need-based federal, state, institutional, and external grants and scholarships. (It does not include work study, loans, or athletic scholarships.) We also asked for the average scholarship package for these students.
To calculate scholarship and grant impact on ROI, we multiplied a school’s reported average scholarship package by four years and multiplied it by the percentage of students receiving scholarships. We subtracted that total from the estimated four-year cost of the degree.
Looking at ROI after scholarships and grants, Michigan Ross and UNC Kenan-Flager switch places at the top of the table. Michigan residents who graduate from Ross can expect an average five-year salary of $472,090 while paying $118,137 for the degree (after scholarships). That’s an ROI of $353,953, or 299.6%.
A necessary caveat: Scholarship data is not figured in our ranking methodology, and so some schools do not report it. Also, scholarship rates and amounts can vary widely from year to year, so one can’t say that the average scholarship package for incoming freshmen will be the same as the class advances to juniors or seniors. The four-year calculation is a loose estimation, but can offer some context when students and parents look at individual schools.
Scholarship ROIs For P&Q Ranked Business Schools |
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| 2025 Rank | School | % Receiving Scholarship | Average Scholarship (4-Year) | Adjusted Cost (4-year) | Total Salary (5-year) | ROI $ | ROI % |
| 11 | University of Michigan (Ross) | 59.0% | $73,920 | $118,137 | $472,090 | $353,953 | 299.6% |
| 9 | University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) | 49.6% | $55,556 | $72,698 | $424,726 | $352,027 | 484.2% |
| 4 | University of Virginia (McIntire) | 37.0% | $137,012 | $120,446 | $459,190 | $338,744 | 281.2% |
| 2 | Cornell University (Dyson SC Johnson) | 61.0% | $189,960 | $143,915 | $481,970 | $338,055 | 234.9% |
| 23 | Indiana University (Kelley) | 96.3% | $39,784 | $86,901 | $394,045 | $307,144 | 353.4% |
| 31 | Binghamton University | NR | NR | NR | $433,390 | $305,214 | 238.1% |
| 19 | University of Illinois (Gies) | 54.0% | NR | NR | $383,710 | $301,458 | 366.5% |
| 32 | University of Washington (Foster) | 64.0% | $6,544 | $88,336 | $383,440 | $295,104 | 334.1% |
| 59 | Hofstra University (Zarb) | 97.0% | $140,172 | $139,943 | $434,135 | $294,192 | 210.2% |
| 1 | University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 51.0% | $212,932 | $253,455 | $547,395 | $293,940 | 116.0% |
Obviously, scholarships and grants can increase early-career ROI significantly. At Indiana University Kelley School of Business, for example, 96.3% of incoming freshmen received a scholarship with the average package being $9,946.
That cuts the estimated cost of attendance from $125,213 over four years down to $86,901 for Indiana residents. And that, in turn, increases the school’s dollar ROI to $307,144 (353.4%) with scholarships figured in compared to $268,832 (214.7%) without.
It should be of little surprise that top-ranked public schools have a higher early-career ROI than the much pricier private schools. While average salaries at the top-ranked private schools tend to be higher than most public universities, their proportionally higher cost can eat up those salaries quickly.
Among the 104 schools we ranked in 2025, 35 posted estimated tuition, fees, and expected expenses that add up to more than $300K over four years. That compares to just 32 schools in 2024’s ranking, and 13 schools for 2023’s.
Notably, all of the 10 schools with the highest early-career ROI on a straight dollar-for-dollar basis are public institutions that offer substantial tuition breaks for in-state students (the figure used in our calculations.) So, if you’re a student considering a business degree, look at programs in your state’s public universities first.
Page 2: ROIs of all 104 business schools from our 2025 ranking
Page 3: Scholarship/grant ROIs of all 104 business schools from our 2025 ranking
