Big myth on campus: Most Americans no longer see value in a college degree
For generations, Americans were told that if they studied hard and earned a college degree, they’d be well on their way to myriad other milestones, including marriage, kids, homeownership and a healthy retirement. Now, that narrative is starting to flip, as both Gen Z and those who came before them declare that a four-year college degree just isn’t worth it.
Is a college degree worth it?
According to a recently published NBC News Poll, nearly two-thirds of registered voters no longer see the value in a college degree, a 20-point increase since the question was first posed 12 years ago.
Conducted between Oct. 24 and 28, Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt and his Republican colleague, Bill McInturff, surveyed 1,000 registered voters.
Of that pool, a whopping 63% of respondents said a college degree isn’t worth the cost, compared to 33% who still recognize the value. Those numbers are a stark contrast to the 53% who valued a degree in 2013, versus the 40% who didn’t.
This year’s results are in line with a growing trend. When the same survey was issued in 2017, respondents had largely leveled out, with 49% to 47% in favor of validating the cost of a college degree.
“It’s just remarkable to see attitudes on any issue shift this dramatically, and particularly on a central tenet of the American dream, which is a college degree,” Horwitt said. “Americans used to view a college degree as aspirational — it provided an opportunity for a better life. And now that promise is really in doubt.”
What’s behind the collegiate downturn?
Various factors can explain Americans’ hesitancy to invest –– both time and money –– in a college degree, including inflation, rising living costs and a less-than-promising job market.
However, the sheer financial burden of a college education can’t be discounted. According to the Education Data Initiative, despite some small declines over the last 10 years, the average price of a college education has increased 40-fold since 1963. When adjusted for inflation, that represents a 312.4% rise in tuition.
Meanwhile, the Economic Policy Institute notes that between 1973 and 2013, the average hourly wage increased just 9%. For students who either work a minimum-wage job in high school, hoping to put themselves through college, or work while pursuing their studies, a wage increase of less than 10% does little to offset a nearly 315% rise in costs.
Add to that the threat of exorbitant student loans and relatively stagnant wages post-university, and the thought of living under the thumb of debt for decades, if not the rest of one’s life, becomes wholly unappealing.
That financial reality is starting to hit even those who have already earned their degree. In 2013, NBC’s poll found that 63% of voters with a college degree viewed their efforts as worth it. Today, that number stands at just 46%.
Over the past 12 years, the partisan divide has also shifted. In 2013, 55% of Republicans thought pursuing a diploma was worth the cost. That number is even higher than the 47% of Democrats who hold the same view today.
As of 2025, Republican support for colleges and universities has dipped to a dismal 22%, a figure reflected in the number of voters without a college degree who have flocked to the GOP in recent years.
Some people will still get a degree, right?
For those who are still choosing to pursue a degree, it’s worth noting which majors are poised for success.
Of the 74 industries profiled earlier this year in a Federal Reserve Bank of New York analysis, 19 of them meet or exceed the $100,000 threshold by mid-career. That included various fields in engineering, as well as business analytics, economics and finance, construction services, computer science, physics and international affairs.
College isn’t the only traditional American milestone that Gen Z is second-guessing. A recent Pew Research analysis found that 67% of 12th-grade students said they’ll likely marry in the future, down from 80% in 1993.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
