Bachelor's · Cleveland, Ohio

Is Civil Engineering at Case Western Reserve University worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 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 5.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $76,732; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $85,908; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $23,415; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $189k (likely $189k – $216k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $47k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in OH; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.6 years (likely 4.1–7.9); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $74k (likely −$83k – $263k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $640k (likely $307k – $1.04M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 87%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26