COLLEGES · 30-YEAR ROI · OREM, UT

Is Utah Valley University worth the money?

Yes — at resident pricing. A Utah Valley University degree clears +$2.22M in 30-year projected net value over skipping college and investing the difference.

A public four-year school in Orem, Utah, priced as a Utah resident — earnings rolled up from 39 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.

30-year net value · resident pricing
+$2.22M
Total cost of attendance (4 years, sticker)
$62,016
Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
$61,620
Breaks even by age
34
FREOPP program coverage
39 programs

Coming from out of state?

Still worth it — at non-resident tuition, Utah Valley University clears +$1.83M over the same 30-year horizon, on a total sticker cost of $108,256. The residency line is worth $393K to you here — same school, same degree (the out-of-state tax in Utah, ranked).

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

Utah Valley University runs through the /worth-it model at its resident tuition rate, with the standard loan assumptions, a 30-year horizon, and Utah’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 39 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 Utah Valley University worth the money?
At resident pricing, yes: Utah Valley University clears +$2.22M in 30-year projected net value versus skipping college and investing the difference. That is computed from a total cost of attendance of $62,016 and median earnings of $61,620 ten years after entry (IPEDS 2023 cost, FREOPP 2021 earnings, BEA 2023 cost-of-living — the same model as the LE TEEN calculator).
How long until a Utah Valley University degree pays for itself?
The degree path overtakes the skip-college path around age 34 under our defaults — from there the gap only widens, ending +$2.22M ahead at the 30-year horizon.
What could change the number for Utah Valley University?
Two levers dominate. Residency: this page prices Utah Valley University as a Utah resident; at non-resident tuition it still clears +$1.83M, but the gap is real money (see the out-of-state tax in Utah). 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 Utah Valley University worth the money? 30-year ROI.” Data: IPEDS 2023 · FREOPP 2021 · BEA 2023. https://le-teen.com/colleges/utah-valley-university