Education Reaps Huge Financial Rewards. $570,000 in Gains! The Best Investment for the Future.

"Where is the best place to invest $102,000?" asks a recent study by the Brookings Institute. Their finds are clear and strikingly decisive. It is not stocks, bonds, real estate, et cetera, but education. The average undergraduate degree in the United States will cost approximately $102,000 to earn, but will net about $570,000 more in lifelong earnings than somebody with a high school diploma. Someone with a two year college diploma or associate degree will net $170,000 more during their life.

As a return on investment, this amounts to a 15.2 percent return per year for a 4 Year Degree, and an astounding 20 percent return on a college diploma. Why the higher return on a college diploma? A college graduate will make less money, on average, per year than someone from university, but the opportunity cost was lower. The college graduate started earning money two years earlier, and they paid significantly less money for their education.