Bachelor's · Princeton, New Jersey

Is Public Policy Analysis at Princeton 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 1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $81,312; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $115,782; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: Not enough borrowers to report; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $33k (likely $33k – $43k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $76k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NJ; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1 years (likely 0.8–1.3); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $514k (likely $379k – $651k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.40M (likely $1.08M – $1.75M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 97%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26