Rhode Island Higher Education Outcome Report

• Institutions

  13

  58,478 students enrolled

• Graduates / Year

  ~9,326

  Estimated annual completers

• Median Earnings

  98th pct

  $70,005

  1st of 50 states

• Mobility Score

  48th pct

  1.5%

  24th of 46 states

• Talent Retention

  98th pct

  83%

  First-year retention rate

• Value Ratio

  8th pct

  2.1x

  Earnings per net-price dollar

1. 1

   Rhode Island graduates earn a median of $70,005 a decade after entry, 43% above the national state average, ranking 1st of 50 states.

2. 2

   Upward mobility sits mid-pack: the state's institutions move bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 1.5% rate, in the 48th percentile nationally.

3. 3

   Degree production is led by Business and Healthcare, which together account for 35% of graduates. That diversified mix sets what the state's labor pipeline can supply.

4. 4

   Sciences is the standout sector: graduates earn $78,705, +52.6% versus the national median. That premium points to a real wage advantage rather than sheer volume.

5. 5

   On value, Rhode Island returns 2.1x earnings per dollar of net price, below average cost-to-outcome efficiency in the country.

6. 6

   The state's strongest mobility engine is New England Institute of Technology, which moves bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 1.9% rate, the highest in Rhode Island.

• Earnings vs National

  ▲ +31.8%

  Median graduate earnings in Rhode Island are above the national average by 32%.

• Cost vs National

  ▼ +52%

  Net price in Rhode Island is higher than the national average by 52%.

• Mobility Rate

  ▼ -0.27pp

  Upward mobility rate is 0.3 percentage points below the national average.

• Completion Rate

  ▲ +14.7pp

  Rhode Island's graduation rate is 14.7 percentage points above the national average.

• Best Value

  ▲ 6.5x

  Top value school: Community College of Rhode Island ($42,659 earnings vs $6,513 net price).

• Low-Income Access

  ▼ 6.8%

  7% of students come from bottom-quintile households, a measure of how open the state's colleges are to low-income students.

Business (21% of graduates) and Healthcare (14% of graduates) dominate Rhode Island's higher education output. Graduates in the top field earn a weighted average of $75,700.

• Business

  21%

  $75,700 avg

• Healthcare

  14%

  $56,053 avg

• Social Sciences

  14%

  $78,308 avg

• Humanities

  13%

  $48,675 avg

• Technology

  8%

  $75,890 avg

Rhode Island's highest-ROI degree cluster is Humanities (English & Literature), where graduates average $70,357 against a net cost of $26,586, a 2.6x return. That's +36.4% vs the national median.

• English & Literature

  2.6x
  $70,357 earnings · $26,586 net +36.4% vs natl

• Education

  2.6x
  $70,357 earnings · $26,586 net +36.4% vs natl

• Mathematics & Statistics

  2.6x
  $72,814 earnings · $28,415 net +41.2% vs natl

• Physical Sciences

  2.5x
  $74,974 earnings · $29,932 net +45.4% vs natl

• Biology & Biomedical

  2.4x
  $69,548 earnings · $28,706 net +34.8% vs natl

• Communications

  2.4x
  $65,284 earnings · $27,368 net +26.6% vs natl

Three lenses on Rhode Island's talent pipeline: which fields produce the most graduates, which command the highest earnings, and where high-pay demand outruns local supply.

Rhode Island's colleges post an average mobility rate of 1.5%, which puts the state in the 48th percentile nationally. 7% of students arrive from bottom-quintile households. Cross-class social connectedness averages 1.68, a proxy for the networks that help graduates convert a degree into mobility.

Rhode Island's Sciences programs produce graduates earning $78,705, +52.6% relative to the national median.

• Business

  21% of enrollment
  $66,555 +29% vs natl

  8 schools

• Healthcare

  14% of enrollment
  $55,633 +7.9% vs natl

  6 schools

• Social Sciences

  14% of enrollment
  $74,974 +45.4% vs natl

  6 schools

• Technology

  8% of enrollment
  $70,104 +35.9% vs natl

  3 schools

• Sciences

  7% of enrollment
  $78,705 +52.6% vs natl

  5 schools

Rhode Island's higher education system includes 1 research-oriented, 3 specialized, 1 access-oriented, 8 regional institutions. Each group plays a different role in the state's outcomes.

• 🔬

  1

  Research Universities

• 🏛️

  8

  Regional Universities

• 🚀

  1

  Access-Oriented Institutions

• 🎯

  3

  Specialized Institutions

17% of Rhode Island's colleges charge under $15K net. Graduates of those schools average $49,489 at 10 years. At the premium end, 3 schools charge over $40K, with graduates averaging $81,734.

• NET PRICE UNDER $15K

  2

  17% of schools

  Avg earnings: $49,489

• NET PRICE $15K–$25K

  2

  17% of schools

  Avg earnings: $69,743

• NET PRICE $25K–$40K

  5

  42% of schools

  Avg earnings: $65,766

• NET PRICE OVER $40K

  3

  25% of schools

  Avg earnings: $81,734

Schools ranked by median graduate earnings 10 years after enrolling.

1. 01 Brown University Providence, RI $93,487
2. 02 Bryant University Smithfield, RI $90,008
3. 03 Providence College Providence, RI $87,054
4. 04 Salve Regina University Newport, RI $72,975
5. 05 Roger Williams University Bristol, RI $70,266
6. 06 Roger Williams University School of Law Bristol, RI $70,266
7. 07 University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI $69,743
8. 08 Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI $68,140

What graduates in Rhode Island earn relative to what they pay for college.

Every figure on this page is derived from public federal data and read within its regional and economic context. Information Gain Policy →