Outlying Areas Colleges: Costs & Outcomes (2026 stats)

Analysis & insights

EDsmart Data aggregates institution-level College Scorecard data for this profile. Highlights below compare local medians to U.S. and regional benchmarks.

Costs & borrowing

Outlying Areas median public in-state tuition is $7,750, about +40.6% vs the national median.

Median graduate debt is $9,500 (-29.3% below the U.S. median of $13,432). Low sticker prices do not always mean low borrowing—living costs, time-to-degree, and aid mix matter.

Student debt rank: #2 nationally of 10 (lower debt = better rank) (1 = lowest median debt).

Earnings, employment & retention

Among bachelor's-predominant campuses with ≥200 students, median 10-year earnings in Outlying Areas are $26,721, about -50.8% vs the U.S. campus median ($54,323).

The median campus reports 78.1% of its 8-year cohort as working and not enrolled—our closest federal proxy to a placement rate. The U.S. campus median is 87.9% (-9.9 pp). Formal job-placement statistics are not published in Scorecard; treat this as a comparative outcome indicator, not a hire guarantee.

First-year, full-time retention at the median campus is 76.4% vs a U.S. median of 76.3%—a leading indicator for completion and time-to-degree.

Loan repayment indicators at the median campus: 2-yr default 9.6% (U.S. 5.0%); 3-yr repayment progress 62.8% (U.S. 73.7%). 3-yr default is omitted when most campuses report suppressed zeros.

Top employment-outcome campuses in this extract include Universidad Politecnica de Puerto Rico (85.6%), Albizu University-San Juan (84.7%), University of Puerto Rico-Humacao (84.6%), University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (84.5%), University of Puerto Rico-Carolina (83.6%), University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon (83.4%), University of Puerto Rico at Cayey (82.1%), University of the Virgin Islands (82.1%), University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo (81.2%), University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla (81.1%)—useful anchors for local reporting on where graduates are most often working rather than still enrolled.

Completion & workforce context

Within Outlying Areas, sector medians diverge: Private nonprofit median 10-yr earnings $24,964 (22 campuses); Public median 10-yr earnings $30,958 (15 campuses). Public campuses often dominate enrollment while private nonprofits can show higher earnings medians at selective institutions.

Average institution-level completion rate across all sectors in Outlying Areas is 41.1% (national institution average about 50.3%).