Bachelor's · Marquette, Michigan

Is Construction Management at Northern Michigan University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $81,972; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $98,478; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $17,622; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $54k (likely $54k – $73k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $61k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MI; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.6 years (likely 1.2–2.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $381k (likely $258k – $525k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.11M (likely $823k – $1.42M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 54%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26