COLLEGES · 30-YEAR ROI · QUEENS, NY

Is CUNY Queens College worth the money?

Yes — at resident pricing. A CUNY Queens College degree clears +$338K in 30-year projected net value over skipping college and investing the difference.

A public four-year school in Queens, New York, priced as a New York resident — earnings rolled up from 29 FREOPP-reported programs.

IPEDS 2023 cost · FREOPP 2021 earnings · BEA 2023 cost-of-living · same model as /worth-it · this school clears positive net value.

CUNY Queens College · Queens, NY

30-year net value · resident pricing
+$338K
30-year net value · non-resident
+$67K
Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
$48,892
Breaks even by age
—
Annual tuition · New York resident
$7,538
Annual tuition · out-of-state
$15,488
Total cost of attendance (4 years, sticker)
$96,008
Total cost of attendance · out-of-state
$127,808
FREOPP program coverage
29 programs

The out-of-state tax in New York, ranked

How this is computed (and what it isn’t)

CUNY Queens College runs through the /worth-it model at its resident tuition rate, with the standard loan assumptions, a 30-year horizon, and New York’s own cost-of-living on the skip-college path. The “30-year net value” is the projected accumulated value of going vs. skipping and investing the difference, in real dollars.

What it isn’t: a verdict on every major. The school-level number averages across 29 FREOPP-reported programs — the field you pick swings it by over a million dollars on its own. We only publish school pages that clear positive net value at resident pricing; earnings roll up from at least three FREOPP programs (ADR-0032), so a single high-earning major can’t fake the number.

Questions

Is CUNY Queens College worth the money?
At resident pricing, yes: CUNY Queens College clears +$338K in 30-year projected net value versus skipping college and investing the difference. That is computed from a total cost of attendance of $96,008 and median earnings of $48,892 ten years after entry (IPEDS 2023 cost, FREOPP 2021 earnings, BEA 2023 cost-of-living — the same model as the LE TEEN calculator).
How much is tuition at CUNY Queens College?
CUNY Queens College's annual sticker tuition is $7,538 for New York residents and $15,488 for out-of-state students, before financial aid. Total cost of attendance over 4 years — tuition plus fees, housing, and living costs — is $96,008 (IPEDS 2023).
What is the total cost of CUNY Queens College?
Over 4 years, CUNY Queens College's sticker cost of attendance is $96,008 at resident pricing, or $127,808 out-of-state — tuition, fees, housing, and living costs at New York prices, before financial aid. Median earnings ten years after entry are $48,892.
What is out-of-state tuition at CUNY Queens College?
Non-resident annual sticker tuition at CUNY Queens College is $15,488, versus $7,538 for New York residents — a premium of $7,950 a year. Even at the non-resident rate, CUNY Queens College clears positive 30-year net value.
How long until a CUNY Queens College degree pays for itself?
Under our defaults the degree path finishes +$338K ahead at the 30-year horizon; the year-by-year crossover depends on your loan share and time horizon — run your own assumptions on the calculator.
What could change the number for CUNY Queens College?
Two levers dominate. Residency: this page prices CUNY Queens College as a New York resident; at non-resident tuition it still clears +$67K, but the gap is real money (see the out-of-state tax in New York). And the major: the field you pick swings lifetime ROI by over a million dollars on its own (see the majors pages).

Keep going

Cite this:

LE TEEN (2026). “Is CUNY Queens College worth the money? 30-year ROI.” Data: IPEDS 2023 · FREOPP 2021 · BEA 2023. https://le-teen.com/colleges/cuny-queens-college