COLLEGES · 30-YEAR ROI · WILLIAMSBURG, VA
Is William & Mary worth the money?
Yes — at resident pricing. A William & Mary degree clears +$1.01M in 30-year projected net value over skipping college and investing the difference.
A public four-year school in Williamsburg, Virginia, priced as a Virginia resident — earnings rolled up from 25 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
- +$1.01M
- Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
- $59,398
- Breaks even by age
- —
- FREOPP program coverage
- 25 programs
William & Mary tuition & cost
- Annual tuition · Virginia resident
- $25,041
- Annual tuition · out-of-state
- $49,412
- Total cost of attendance (4 years, sticker)
- $158,384
Sticker tuition, before aid. Priced as a Virginia resident; the out-of-state line is the non-resident rate. Total cost of attendance adds fees, housing, and living costs over 4 years (IPEDS 2023).
Coming from out of state?
Still worth it — at non-resident tuition, William & Mary clears +$179K over the same 30-year horizon, on a total sticker cost of $255,868. The residency line is worth $829K to you here — same school, same degree (the out-of-state tax in Virginia, ranked).
How this is computed (and what it isn’t)
William & Mary runs through the /worth-it model at its resident tuition rate, with the standard loan assumptions, a 30-year horizon, and Virginia’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 25 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 William & Mary worth the money?
- At resident pricing, yes: William & Mary clears +$1.01M in 30-year projected net value versus skipping college and investing the difference. That is computed from a total cost of attendance of $158,384 and median earnings of $59,398 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 William & Mary?
- William & Mary's annual sticker tuition is $25,041 for Virginia residents and $49,412 for out-of-state students, before financial aid. Total cost of attendance over 4 years — tuition plus fees, housing, and living costs — is $158,384 (IPEDS 2023).
- What is the total cost of William & Mary?
- Over 4 years, William & Mary's sticker cost of attendance is $158,384 at resident pricing, or $255,868 out-of-state — tuition, fees, housing, and living costs at Virginia prices, before financial aid. Median earnings ten years after entry are $59,398.
- What is out-of-state tuition at William & Mary?
- Non-resident annual sticker tuition at William & Mary is $49,412, versus $25,041 for Virginia residents — a premium of $24,371 a year. Even at the non-resident rate, William & Mary clears positive 30-year net value.
- How long until a William & Mary degree pays for itself?
- Under our defaults the degree path finishes +$1.01M 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 William & Mary?
- Two levers dominate. Residency: this page prices William & Mary as a Virginia resident; at non-resident tuition it still clears +$179K, but the gap is real money (see the out-of-state tax in Virginia). 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 William & Mary worth the money? 30-year ROI.” Data: IPEDS 2023 · FREOPP 2021 · BEA 2023. https://le-teen.com/colleges/william-and-mary