Master's · Stanford, California

Is Computer Science at Stanford University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 0.4 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $204,917; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $274,617; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $33,500; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $36k (likely $36k – $36k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $206k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 0.4 years (likely 0.4–0.5); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $1.81M (likely $1.53M – $2.10M); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $4.23M (likely $3.54M – $4.97M); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.