Master's · Ithaca, New York

Is Computer Science at Cornell University worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ 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 0.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $188,402; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $253,237; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $36,706; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $39k (likely $39k – $39k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $184k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in NY; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 0.6 years (likely 0.5–0.7); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $1.58M (likely $1.38M – $1.79M); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $3.73M (likely $3.21M – $4.30M); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.