In the long run %100. comparing the lowest quartile of high school grads to the lowest quartile of college grads, the college grad makes about $30k more. So without accounting for interest on the loans (if they were needed) it would take about ~13 years to pay for itself, 17 if you count the four years it took to get the degree. At the upper quartile it looks more like five or six years to pay for itself. Please correct my napkin math or my napkin source if this seems shaky: https://www.ppic.org/publication/is-college-worth-it/