2021 Price-to-Earnings Premium

The Price-to-Earnings Premium (PEP) is a metric we developed to better determine the economic value that institutions of higher education provide their students. The PEP looks at the net price the average student pays out-of-pocket to obtain an academic credential relative to the additional amount they earn by attending that institution in the first place. If a student earns more than non-college goers, the additional annual income they obtain can be used to recoup their educational costs.  

Our follow-up report also digs into the outcomes of a critical population—low-income students—and identifies the PEP for this demographic at individual institutions of higher education.