COLLEGES · 30-YEAR ROI · DETROIT, MI

Is Wayne State University worth the money?

Yes — at resident pricing. A Wayne State University degree clears +$1.61M in 30-year projected net value over skipping college and investing the difference.

A public four-year school in Detroit, Michigan, priced as a Michigan resident — earnings rolled up from 53 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
+$1.61M
Total cost of attendance (4 years, sticker)
$108,904
Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
$58,876
Breaks even by age
41
FREOPP program coverage
53 programs

Coming from out of state?

Still worth it — at non-resident tuition, Wayne State University clears +$1.00M over the same 30-year horizon, on a total sticker cost of $179,680. The residency line is worth $602K to you here — same school, same degree (the out-of-state tax in Michigan, ranked).

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

Wayne State University runs through the /worth-it model at its resident tuition rate, with the standard loan assumptions, a 30-year horizon, and Michigan’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 53 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 Wayne State University worth the money?
At resident pricing, yes: Wayne State University clears +$1.61M in 30-year projected net value versus skipping college and investing the difference. That is computed from a total cost of attendance of $108,904 and median earnings of $58,876 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 Wayne State University degree pays for itself?
The degree path overtakes the skip-college path around age 41 under our defaults — from there the gap only widens, ending +$1.61M ahead at the 30-year horizon.
What could change the number for Wayne State University?
Two levers dominate. Residency: this page prices Wayne State University as a Michigan resident; at non-resident tuition it still clears +$1.00M, but the gap is real money (see the out-of-state tax in Michigan). 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 Wayne State University worth the money? 30-year ROI.” Data: IPEDS 2023 · FREOPP 2021 · BEA 2023. https://le-teen.com/colleges/wayne-state-university