How much is a college degree really worth?

For many years, prevailing wisdom pegged the worth of a college degree somewhere at the $1 million mark — meaning that over a lifetime, a college graduate could expect to earn about $1 million more than a high school graduate. This, of course, made four years of college a compelling argument. But, as college costs continue to outpace the average family’s ability to cover them, a recent article in U.S. News and World Report throws cold water on that figure. “That $1 million number has driven me crazy!” says Sandy Baum, an economist who studied the value of a college degree for the College Board last year.

According to Baum, a more accurate figure is somewhere in the $300,000 range (in today’s dollars). Still, Baum notes, college is one of the most “lucrative investments” a person can make — a college graduate typically gets a better pick of jobs and can go on to pursue an advanced degree. But now that the $1 million figure has been brought back down to earth, let’s hope the cost of a college education follows.