The cost of college in Texas — and what it pays back
Across the 213 Texas institutions we profile, the median net price — what students actually pay after grants and scholarships — is $19,359/yr, $2,457 above the $16,902 national median. Graduates earn a median $40,873 ten years after entry (below the $43,549 national median), and 71 of the 213 schools clear their full cost on institution-wide earnings. (Scorecard, 2026 · our math.)
How Texas's 213 colleges split by ROI verdict
Verdicts: payback under 5 / 10 / 20 / over 20 years (or none).
| College | Net price/yr | Earnings 10y | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice University | $13,370 | $89,718 | 1.3 yrs |
| Chamberlain University-Texas | $32,209 | $92,405 | 2.9 yrs |
| The University of Texas at Austin | $19,857 | $75,121 | 3 yrs |
| Texas A&M University-College Station | $21,315 | $72,097 | 3.6 yrs |
| The University of Texas at Dallas | $18,267 | $68,227 | 3.7 yrs |
| College | Net price/yr | Earnings 10y | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| College of Biblical Studies-Houston | $672 | $39,260 | no payback |
| College of the Mainland | $1,342 | $39,639 | no payback |
| Lamar State College-Orange | $1,655 | $36,587 | no payback |
| South Texas College | $1,751 | $36,788 | no payback |
| Lamar State College-Port Arthur | $2,846 | $37,120 | no payback |
How many Texas colleges actually pay for themselves?
71 of 213 — 33% of the Texas institutions we profile clear their full net cost on institution-wide earnings above the $48,360 high-school baseline. The rest need a high-paying major to pay off; the school average alone does not do it.
Do Texas graduates out-earn the national median?
Texas graduates report a median $40,873 ten years after entry, $2,676 below the $43,549 national median. Earnings track the local labour market and the mix of fields the state's colleges graduate, not the state border itself.