Bachelor's · Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Is Economics at Franklin and Marshall College 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 in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 4 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $74,009; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $97,066; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $21,250; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $142k (likely $142k – $142k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $58k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in PA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 4 years (likely 3.3–5.0); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $226k (likely $92k – $361k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $911k (likely $624k – $1.26M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 79%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26