10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
+$48,956at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Private for-profit · ONLINE-ONLY COLLEGE
Capella University
Administrative location: Minneapolis, MN · 86 field-and-degree records
Earnings reported for 86 · Federal debt reported for 12
Based onObserved earnings + college priceEstimate10-year payoff
Estimated 10-year payoff
Positive payoff
+$48,956 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
8.4 yrsTime to earn back the modeled cost
+19%Estimated return after 10 years
$75,078Observed earnings · year 5
$30,195Highest annual price before payoff reaches $0
The price benchmark is $12,239 per year below this threshold.
Start with your question
What do you want to understand?
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
PUBLISHED STUDENT BUDGET · 2024–25
What makes up the annual price?
Sticker-price components reported to IPEDS. Grants and scholarships are not subtracted here.
Living off campus: $7,350 housing and food allowance plus $1,092 in other expenses.
Do not confuse this with net price. Net price subtracts average grants and scholarships. DegreeVerdict continues to use the separately labeled average net price in its standard college ROI scenario.
PRICE SENSITIVITY
The price can change the verdict.
Hold observed earnings constant and see how the modeled ten-year payoff changes as annual price rises.
← Negative payoff$0Positive payoff →
$0Annual price+$120,780
$10,000Annual price+$80,780
$18,000Current college-wide context+$48,780
$20,000Annual price+$40,780
$30,000Annual price+$780
$40,000Annual price−$39,220
$50,000Annual price−$79,220
HOW STUDENTS ATTEND · 2023-24
Attendance format is not fully reported.
IPEDS enrollment counts show course delivery across the whole institution. They do not indicate whether a specific degree can be completed online.
Institution-level attendance context from IPEDS. Program delivery is reported separately on degree pages and in the program directory. These figures do not enter ROI.
College identity and local contextAccreditation, institution type, dual enrollment and state prices
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE
Institution details
Current federal characteristics describing the college, not the outcomes of a specific program.
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
- Main award level
- Bachelor’s degrees
- Campus setting
- City
- Admissions
- Open admission
- Delivery
- Online-only institution
- Federal designation
- No special designation reported
STATE PRICE CONTEXT · 2024
Prices in Minnesota run 1% below the U.S. level.
BEA Regional Price Parities compare price levels across states. A value of 100 equals the national average.
What it costs and what graduates earn
$17,956Average net price / year
$22,820Cost of attendance
$14,968Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$159/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$75,078Median earnings · year 5 after completion
20.0%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
18,364Student size
Debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. It does not include Parent PLUS or private loans. We show admissions scores only when a valid federal value is available.
What the numbers say about Capella University
What does Capella University cost?
Capella University reports an average annual net price of $17,956 after grants and scholarships. This is an institution-wide average, not an individual aid offer.
What do Capella University graduates earn?
The observed median earnings figure is $75,078 5 years after completion. It describes a federal cohort, not a guaranteed starting salary.
How much federal debt do Capella University graduates have?
Completer borrowers report median cumulative federal student debt of $14,968. Parent PLUS and private loans are not included.
Is every degree at Capella University worth the same?
No. The current release contains 86 field-and-degree records for Capella University; 86 report year-4 earnings and 12 report federal debt. Outcomes can differ substantially by field and degree level.
DEBT AFTER COLLEGE
Are borrowers making progress?
Repayment progress, default and debt at exit describe different federal borrower cohorts. They are shown separately and do not change the ROI estimate.
Source: College Scorecard. Repayment progress is the share of borrowers who reduced principal by at least $1 at the stated measurement point. Debt covers federal student loans; Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded. Cohorts and reporting periods differ across measures.
Who studied here during the year
86,326Students enrolled at any point
40,696Undergraduate students
45,630Graduate students
Unduplicated students enrolled at any point from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. This full-year measure is different from a fall headcount and does not enter ROI.
More student and earnings detailPrice by family income, retention, equity and common industries
WHO PAYS, WHO FINISHES, WHO EARNS
Outcomes are not the same for every family.
These federal cohorts add context that a single college average can hide. Missing figures remain unreported rather than estimated.
Complete within 150% of the expected time
24% received a Pell Grant within eight yearsMedian Parent PLUS debt
16 parent borrowers in the reported cohortMedian federal student debt
30% making progress in repayment after three yearsStudent family incomeMedian earnings after 10 yearsObserved federal cohorts
Lower income$31,945Earnings are not a guarantee
Middle income$59,233Earnings are not a guarantee
Higher income$87,775Earnings are not a guarantee
Three-year repayment progress
Lower income22%
Middle income41%
Higher income59%
Undergraduate student composition
White44%
Black28%
Hispanic15%
Asian4%
Source: College Scorecard, June 2026 release. Parent PLUS debt belongs to parents; student-debt measures exclude Parent PLUS and private loans. Cohort definitions differ by measure.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
WHAT STANDS OUT
A faster read on this college
These summaries use every reportable field-and-credential record at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.
EARNINGS OVER TIME
What graduates earned in later years
$79,233Year 1
$84,333Year 4
$75,078Year 5
Each year can represent a different federal cohort, so the points do not track the same people over time.
Your choice of degree can change the payoff.
Graduate earnings differ by field and credential, even within the same college.
1Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management · Doctoral Degree$175,8392Human Resources Management and Services · Doctoral Degree$159,3443Computer and Information Sciences, General · Doctoral Degree$158,8494Management Information Systems and Services · Master's Degree$136,2105Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Doctoral Degree$134,4836Business Administration, Management and Operations · Doctoral Degree$121,9257Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Master's Degree$117,8238Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management · Master's Degree$112,573Observed year-4 earnings · compare the same field and credential across colleges
Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark
This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential, not simply majors that pay more everywhere.
1Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject AreasMaster's Degree · $94,795 reported+49%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt2Human Resources Management and ServicesDoctoral Degree · $159,344 reported+44%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt3Education, OtherGraduate/Professional Certificate · $83,416 reported+39%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt4Computer/Information Technology Administration and ManagementUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · $68,967 reported+31%vs same-degree national median$18,554federal debt5Health and Medical Administrative ServicesBachelor's Degree · $76,334 reported+30%vs same-degree national median$39,692federal debt6Business Administration, Management and OperationsBachelor's Degree · $87,997 reported+29%vs same-degree national median$33,750federal debt
Comparable online colleges nationwide
Currently operating online-only private for-profit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Administrative location is not treated as the student market.
Orange Beach, AL
Columbia Southern University
- Annual net price
- $14,580
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $73,127
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +18%
FINE Mortuary College
- Annual net price
- $27,385
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $70,630
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -11%
Institute of Health Sciences
- Annual net price
- $22,656
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $64,577
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -28%
American Public University System
- Annual net price
- $9,597
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $67,627
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +4%
Compare fields and degree levels
Showing the 40 highest-earning records from 86 field-and-degree records. Use the program directory to search the complete set.
Graduate counts come from IPEDS and group related majors into the same federal field. Missing earnings or debt values remain labeled as unavailable.
Search every Capella University program record →Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.