Research & Data
Verified higher-education research
CampusPin Research turns trusted federal data into clear, reproducible analyses of college affordability, access, and availability, every report sourced, dated, and downloadable so you can check the math.
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Federal + institutional
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Open data (CSV)
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How we publish research
For journalists & researchers
Use our data
Every published report includes a suggested citation, a downloadable dataset, and a clear methodology. You are welcome to cite CampusPin and link to the report or dataset URL.
Questions, data requests, or corrections? See the press & media page, methodology, or report a correction.
Published reports
Library last updated September 29, 2026
College cost & outcomes
How what a college costs lines up with graduation and earnings, nationally, within each sector, and by state. These reports show association, never a ranking or a causal claim.
Outcomes
Work Without a Bachelor’s Degree Is 70% of U.S. Jobs. Here Is What It Actually Pays
Occupations most people enter without a bachelor's degree account for 70% of U.S. employment. Only 1.1% of that work sits in occupations paying $100,000 or more, yet 29% of it pays above the typical job in its own state, and the states where that happens most are not the ones the salary lists name.
Reporting year May 2025
Outcomes
Is Your Major a Certificate or a Degree? For 17 Fields, It Depends on the State
Across 5,878 field-and-state combinations, what credential a field awards is mostly a property of the field, not the state: grouping by field accounts for 76% of the variation and grouping by state 5%. But 22 fields swing by more than 50 percentage points depending on where you study.
Reporting year 2024-25
Outcomes
Does a Pricier College Pay Off? Cost vs. Graduation and Earnings
Across 3,258 U.S. colleges with cost and graduation data in CampusPin's snapshot, higher-net-price institutions tend to post higher median graduation rates (34% in the lowest cost band vs 72% in the highest) and higher median earnings, an association driven largely by selectivity and sector, not proof that paying more buys a better outcome.
Data snapshot 2026-06-17
Outcomes
Cost vs. Outcomes Within Each College Sector: Where the Price–Graduation Link Holds, and Where It Disappears
A companion to our cost-vs-outcomes report: splitting the same 3,258 colleges by sector shows the headline "higher price, higher graduation" pattern is largely between sectors. Within the two-year sectors it is flat or slightly negative (public two-year 34% to 32% across cost bands); within four-year sectors a selectivity gradient remains.
Data snapshot 2026-06-17
Outcomes
Cost and Outcomes by State: How College Net Price, Graduation, and Earnings Vary Across the Country
Across 3,254 U.S. colleges in CampusPin's snapshot, the median net price is $16,256, the median graduation rate is 49%, and median ten-year earnings are $45,066. State medians vary widely (graduation runs about 29% to 59% among the 37 jurisdictions meeting the sample threshold), reflecting each state's mix of institutions, not a ranking of state quality.
Data snapshot 2026-06-18
Outcomes
FAFSA Lower Earnings List: 999 Schools Flagged, Down From 1,365
The FAFSA warns first-year students when a school's graduates earn less than typical high school graduates. The list most coverage reported, 1,365 schools in December 2025, was replaced on 22 March 2026. In the current release 999 of 4,948 schools with an earnings figure are flagged: 480 came off and 114 were added.
Data: March 2026 release
Outcomes
Same Degree, Different Paycheck: what 32,468 college programs pay and what their graduates owe
Federal data on 32,468 college programs with an earnings figure. An associate degree in nursing pays within 10% of the typical bachelor's program in 37 of 43 states, the college matters far more for some majors than for others, and for-profit graduates of the same program usually owe more.
Data: College Scorecard field of study, June 2026 release
Outcomes
Nursing Graduates vs RN Pay by State: the early-career benchmark
Four years after completing, graduates of the typical bachelor's nursing program in a state earned 94% of that state's median registered-nurse wage, and associate's graduates 88%. The share runs from 74% in Washington to 107% in Louisiana, and it is lowest where nurses are paid most. Early-career earnings against an all-experience benchmark: context, not a measure of program quality or underpayment.
Data: College Scorecard field of study, June 2026 release
Affordability & price
Published tuition and price benchmarks across states and sectors, before financial aid.
Affordability
Published College Tuition by State & Sector
Typical published (sticker) tuition across CampusPin's 3,798 U.S. colleges: median public-university tuition is $8,994 in-state and $18,706 out-of-state, private universities $23,664, and public community colleges $4,288, broken down for every state.
Data snapshot 2026-06-14
Affordability
What college actually costs by family income
Across 2,453 institutions in CampusPin's dataset reporting the full federal net-price series, the median institution charges families earning under $30,000 $12,475 and families earning $110,000 or more $22,070. Figures are medians across institutions, not weighted by enrollment.
Data snapshot 2026-08-12
Affordability
The Borrowing Gap: where college costs more than a family can borrow
A first-year dependent student and their parents can borrow at most $25,500 from the federal government for 2026-27. At 241 of 2,441 colleges reporting federal net-price data, the average price after grants exceeds that even for families earning under $30,000.
Data snapshot 2026-08-12
Affordability
Over the Cap: graduate programs where the typical borrower owed more than federal loans now allow
Since July 1, 2026, a new graduate student can borrow at most $100,000 in federal loans, or $200,000 for a professional degree, and Grad PLUS is gone. At 384 of 8,799 graduate and professional programs with federal debt data, the typical borrower from an earlier class owed more than that.
Data: College Scorecard field of study, June 2026 release
Access & availability
Where colleges are and how many there are by control and type, and how community-college access and cost vary by state.
Access
Does Choosing a Major Narrow Your College List?
Across 9,976 field-and-state combinations in the federal completions data, only 2,554 resolve to a college list that is materially different from every other field in the same state. For most fields, the major a student picks barely changes which colleges are on the table.
Reporting year 2024-25
Access
Distribution of CampusPin-Covered Institutions by State, Control & Type
How CampusPin's 3,798 covered U.S. colleges and universities break down by state, control (public or private), and institution type (university or community college).
Data snapshot 2026-06-14
Access
Community College Access & Affordability by State
Community colleges are 1,250 of the 3,798 U.S. institutions in CampusPin's dataset (32.9%) and the most affordable on-ramp to higher education, with median published public two-year tuition of $4,288 in-state, but availability ranges from 3.3% to 61.8% of a state's institutions.
Data snapshot 2026-06-14
What CampusPin Research draws on
CampusPin Research is built on public federal datasets and each institution's own published information. Specific figures in each report cite the source appropriate to them.
Sources used across this page
Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.
IPEDS / NCES College Navigator
Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
Net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context.
Institutional websites
Each school's official admissions, registrar, and financial-aid pages are the authoritative source for current details.
Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.
Suggested citation
CampusPin. CampusPin Research & Data. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/research