Bachelor's · Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Is Political Science and Government at Wake Forest 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 in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 3.8 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $58,189; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $92,018; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $19,000; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $119k (likely $119k – $119k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $55k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NC; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 3.8 years (likely 3.2–4.5); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $229k (likely $133k – $330k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $888k (likely $658k – $1.14M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 90%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26