--- title: Only 1 in 5 People Think College Is Worth the Money if You Need Student Loans description: Is college worth the money? In a new poll, only 22% of people say college is worth the cost if the person has to take out student loans. authors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Education - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true editors: - name: Kaitlin Mulhere role: Editor url: https://money.com/author/kaitlin-mulhere/ bio: Kaitlin Mulhere is an editor at Money.com. Since joining in 2015, she’s written and edited about a variety of personal finance topics, including banks, credit, student debt, saving strategies and more. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2015 articles: 217 covers: - Education - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/KMulhere - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlin-mulhere-64503048/ published: '2024-05-23T14:43:41.000Z' modified: '2024-05-23T14:43:41.000Z' section: Education tags: - News word_count: 520 canonical: https://money.com/is-college-worth-the-money-2024/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We may earn a fee if you click on the links below. Compensation does not determine ranking. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![College students in a graduation ceremony](https://img.money.com/2024/05/News-Is-College-Worth-Loans.jpg) Is college worth the money? Fewer Americans are weighing in with a definitive yes in this never-ending debate, as college costs remain expensive and people without degrees earn higher incomes. According to a new Pew Research Center [poll](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/05/23/is-college-worth-it-2/), only 22% of Americans believe that college is worth the cost if the person has to take out [student loans](https://money.com/student-loans/). Nearly half (47%) say that college is worth the money, but only if you don’t need loans, while 29% think college is not worth it, period. In another sign of the relative value people place on higher education today, 49% of those surveyed by Pew say a college degree is less important to getting a high-paying job than it was 20 years ago. By contrast, only 32% think a college degree is *more* important for landing a good job compared to 20 years ago and 17% say the level of importance hasn’t changed. ## Cover your college expenses with a Student Loan, so you can focus solely on your grades and education. ### With a Student Loan from College Ave, you can worry less about tuition and devote your energy to mapping out your future. Click on your state and take the first step today. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/u3e72cf8ee70?ap_referrer=%2Fis-college-worth-the-money-2024%2F) ## Why sentiment is souring on the value of college Pew’s new survey data mirrors other research indicating a [decrease in people saying college is worth the money](https://money.com/college-costs-no-longer-worth-it-survey/). For years, there’s been a general decline in the belief that college pays off, largely due to rising costs and subsequent student loan debt. Since 2000, average published tuition and fees, even after adjusting for inflation, have increased 46% at private colleges and a whopping 81% at public four-year colleges, according to data from education nonprofit the [College Board](https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/college-pricing). More recently, there's been growth in opportunities to make a good living without a bachelor’s degree, which seems to also be affecting the relative value people place on college. “After decades of falling wages, young U.S. workers (ages 25 to 34) without a bachelor’s degree have seen their earnings increase over the past 10 years,” the Pew report explains. “Their overall wealth has gone up too, and fewer are living in poverty today.” The complication is that while people without college degrees are earning higher income, their college-educated counterparts have been growing their wealth as well, and the gap in earnings and net worth is widening. The median earnings for young men working full time with just a high school education has increased by about $5,700 from 2014 to now, according to Pew data. At the same time, earnings for young men with four-year college degrees rose by $9,500. (Pew's numbers are in 2022 dollars, adjusted for inflation.) The trajectories and earnings gaps are similar for women. Median earnings for young women with just a high school education working full time rose roughly $5,100 over the past decade, compared to an increase of almost $10,000 for young women with bachelor’s degrees. The changes in net worth for different groups is perhaps the best indication of whether or not college pays off. Among households headed by high school grads, median wealth increased from $12,700 in 2013 to $30,700 as of 2022. That seems like a sizable leap, but it pales in comparison to the net worth growth among households with college degrees: $46,600 to $120,200. ## Compare Student Loan companies to find the right fit ### Cover up to 100% of your college costs ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/24903/medium_b6089714-807b-4b5a-88f9-defb35d74711.png) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/76b118502958?bidid=4105677051&pmeta=p129-c550-u24512&ptid=669894087&ptoken=1066c6f5b68a57d921056062b4aef412) ### Apply online in minutes ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/29957/medium_1bf2c50c-d2fe-4492-bad2-f4bca2475954.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/eb2e5e8a9901?bidid=4105677050&pmeta=p129-c550-u24512&ptid=669894087&ptoken=e3ee1ae28c620e2ad632e04fe2c96109) ### No fees ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38573/medium_5a7ddb75-a315-44cf-8526-1594057ec7d6.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/ab190b38c963?bidid=4105677053&pmeta=p129-c550-u24512&ptid=669894087&ptoken=18b7a7aafe7c6a7c16b22fec2f7fe477) ### Provides customized private loan options for students ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38575/medium_3b0e137f-8ec1-4f32-a340-85efa53e0aab.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/4dbd0cbb3cec?bidid=4105677052&pmeta=p129-c550-u24512&ptid=669894087&ptoken=7d6cb08d4e76e22c010773ad9c697286) ### Rates starting at 2.99% ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38576/medium_d3a42618-1276-44ce-95cf-561a8f89efa8.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/9af2eafd02a0?bidid=4105677054&pmeta=p129-c550-u24512&ptid=669894087&ptoken=638fe673a0aa3fd5646c888c51d0972c) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/24903/medium_b6089714-807b-4b5a-88f9-defb35d74711.png) Reach new academic heights with College Ave [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/y61180a308af?ap_referrer=%2Fis-college-worth-the-money-2024%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/is-college-worth-the-money-2024/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Education", "item": "https://money.com/education/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paying for College", "item": "https://money.com/paying-for-college/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only 1 in 5 People Think College Is Worth the Money if You Need Student Loans" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/is-college-worth-the-money-2024/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/is-college-worth-the-money-2024/", "name": "Only 1 in 5 People Think College Is Worth the Money if You Need Student Loans", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2024-05-23T14:43:41.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/is-college-worth-the-money-2024/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/is-college-worth-the-money-2024/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-05-23T14:43:41.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Only 1 in 5 People Think College Is Worth the Money if You Need Student Loans", "articleSection": "Education", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2024/05/News-Is-College-Worth-Loans.jpg", "width": 3110, "height": 2073, "caption": "News-Is-College-Worth-Loans" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brad Tuttle", "url": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/#author", "description": "Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals.\r\n\r\n", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/01/Brad-Tuttle.png?w=226&h=247&crop=1", "alumniOf": "Columbia University School of Journalism, MS", "sameAs": [ "https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle", "https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2024-05-23T14:43:41.000Z", "description": "Is college worth the money? 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