COLLEGES · 30-YEAR ROI · WINSTON-SALEM, NC

Is Wake Forest University worth the money?

Yes — at resident pricing. A Wake Forest University degree clears +$938K in 30-year projected net value over skipping college and investing the difference.

A private nonprofit four-year school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, priced at its published tuition (identical in-state and out-of-state) — earnings rolled up from 19 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
+$938K
Total cost of attendance (4 years, sticker)
$330,424
Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
$71,787
Breaks even by age
—
FREOPP program coverage
19 programs
How this is computed (and what it isn’t)

Wake Forest University runs through the /worth-it model at its published tuition, with the standard loan assumptions, a 30-year horizon, and North Carolina’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 19 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 Wake Forest University worth the money?
At resident pricing, yes: Wake Forest University clears +$938K in 30-year projected net value versus skipping college and investing the difference. That is computed from a total cost of attendance of $330,424 and median earnings of $71,787 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 Wake Forest University degree pays for itself?
Under our defaults the degree path finishes +$938K 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 Wake Forest University?
Tuition at a private is the same wherever you're from, so the big lever is the major: the field you pick swings lifetime ROI by over a million dollars on its own (see the majors pages). Loan share and time horizon move it too — both are editable on the calculator.

Keep going

Cite this:

LE TEEN (2026). “Is Wake Forest University worth the money? 30-year ROI.” Data: IPEDS 2023 · FREOPP 2021 · BEA 2023. https://le-teen.com/colleges/wake-forest-university