Ranked by return on investment: median 10-year earnings divided by average net price. A high ratio means graduates out-earn what the degree cost them by the widest margin.
Includes institutions reporting both net price and 10-year earnings. Ranked by salary ÷ cost. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Schools that do not report the required fields are excluded rather than estimated — so absence from this list is not a judgment about the school.
The top of this ranking is almost entirely Technical College System of Georgia schools, and that is not a quirk of the math — it is the actual finding. Between the HOPE Grant and federal Pell Grants, tuition at Georgia technical colleges is often covered almost completely, driving average net price into the hundreds of dollars. A few schools even post a negative net price, meaning aid exceeds the cost of attendance and students receive a refund.
When the denominator is that small, the ratio gets very large and very sensitive — a $600 net price and a $1,200 net price produce wildly different rankings from a difference most families would not notice. Treat the exact ordering at the top as noisy, and the pattern as solid: if a certificate is the real credential for the work you want, Georgia's technical colleges are extraordinarily cheap relative to what graduates earn.
For bachelor's-degree institutions on the same measure, see best value four-year colleges in Georgia.
| # | College | Salary ÷ Cost | Net Price | Median Salary | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Valdosta, GA · Public |
50.3× | $614 | $30,864 | — |
| 2 | Southern Regional Technical College Thomasville, GA · Public |
38.5× | $813 | $31,293 | — |
| 3 | South Georgia Technical College Americus, GA · Public |
26.1× | $1,164 | $30,364 | — |
| 4 | West Georgia Technical College Waco, GA · Public |
14.4× | $2,457 | $35,479 | $11,110 |
| 5 | Chattahoochee Technical College Marietta, GA · Public |
10.9× | $3,407 | $37,138 | — |
| 6 | Columbus Technical College Columbus, GA · Public |
8.6× | $4,001 | $34,238 | $8,756 |
| 7 | Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA · Public |
8.5× | $12,116 | $102,772 | $21,672 |
| 8 | North Georgia Technical College Clarkesville, GA · Public |
8.2× | $4,005 | $32,932 | $7,823 |
| 9 | Dalton State College Dalton, GA · Public |
8.0× | $5,012 | $40,251 | $12,937 |
| 10 | Albany Technical College Albany, GA · Public |
6.8× | $4,524 | $30,541 | $12,412 |
| 11 | Gwinnett Technical College Lawrenceville, GA · Public |
6.7× | $6,696 | $45,025 | $13,000 |
| 12 | Southern Crescent Technical College Griffin, GA · Public |
6.4× | $5,661 | $36,104 | $9,500 |
| 13 | Atlanta Metropolitan State College Atlanta, GA · Public |
6.3× | $5,258 | $33,252 | $14,123 |
| 14 | Georgia Northwestern Technical College Rome, GA · Public |
6.3× | $5,720 | $35,759 | $6,421 |
| 15 | Georgia Highlands College Rome, GA · Public |
6.2× | $6,928 | $43,184 | $12,000 |
| 16 | Clayton State University Morrow, GA · Public |
5.9× | $8,365 | $49,179 | $25,706 |
| 17 | Savannah Technical College Savannah, GA · Public |
5.4× | $6,114 | $33,018 | $3,258 |
| 18 | Athens Technical College Athens, GA · Public |
5.2× | $6,949 | $35,951 | — |
| 19 | Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Tifton, GA · Public |
5.1× | $6,842 | $34,996 | $16,750 |
| 20 | University of North Georgia Dahlonega, GA · Public |
5.1× | $9,823 | $50,135 | $17,750 |
| 21 | University of Georgia Athens, GA · Public |
4.9× | $13,936 | $68,726 | $18,500 |
| 22 | Lanier Technical College Gainesville, GA · Public |
4.8× | $7,799 | $37,623 | — |
| 23 | Ogeechee Technical College Statesboro, GA · Public |
4.8× | $6,542 | $31,248 | $9,500 |
| 24 | Gordon State College Barnesville, GA · Public |
4.7× | $8,105 | $37,871 | $17,500 |
| 25 | Savannah State University Savannah, GA · Public |
4.6× | $8,172 | $37,981 | $28,000 |
| 26 | Valdosta State University Valdosta, GA · Public |
4.5× | $10,945 | $49,361 | $24,779 |
| 27 | Central Georgia Technical College Warner Robins, GA · Public |
4.4× | $7,052 | $30,848 | $9,608 |
| 28 | Georgia State University-Perimeter College Atlanta, GA · Public |
4.1× | $11,453 | $47,384 | $20,903 |
| 29 | South Georgia State College Douglas, GA · Public |
4.1× | $8,767 | $35,697 | $11,500 |
| 30 | Georgia Southwestern State University Americus, GA · Public |
4.1× | $12,019 | $48,757 | $18,851 |
Wiregrass Georgia Technical College leads this ranking at 50.3×. Former students there report a median income of $30,864 ten years after entering. Average net price runs $614 per year. See the full Wiregrass Georgia Technical College profile →
No single metric identifies the right school for a given student. Earnings vary far more by major than by institution. Graduation rates partly reflect who a school admits, not only how well it teaches. Net price is an average across all income bands, and your actual offer may land well above or below it. Use this list to build a shortlist, then compare your real aid letters.
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