Texas public four-year outcomes benchmarks
Use this page as the Texas-only benchmark sheet: same metrics we will sort in future institution-level Texas tables, but here aggregated or cited at the state sector level so readers see the yardstick before campuses are ranked.
Cohort
Texas institutions in the public four-year sector for the College Scorecard snapshot feeding EDsmart Data in April 2026. County-level employment context, when we add it, will cite BLS OEWS Texas extracts with vintage.
At a glance
Three yardsticks
Bar lengths scale to the largest dollar value in the trio (the mixed-sector “average cost” row). Public four-year sticker and public two-year sticker answer different questions—do not read them as interchangeable.
Percentages: 8,484 ÷ 10,008, 2,933 ÷ 10,008, and 100% for the max row. Figures match the benchmark table below.
Benchmark table (documented extracts)
Figures in the first two rows come from EDsmart Data’s published tuition trends by state table (median published in-state tuition, public four-year). The third row summarizes our average cost of college by state file for all institution types in Texas (broader universe than public four-year alone)—included because readers often conflate it with the sector-specific sticker.
| Metric family | Texas value (this site’s April 2026 table) | Universe | How to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median published in-state tuition (public four-year) | $8,484 (median) · mean $7,479 | 54 public four-year units in TX in that extract | Sticker benchmark before grants; pair with Scorecard net price. |
| Median published in-state tuition (public two-year) | $2,933 (median) · mean $3,088 | 41 public two-year units in TX | Transfer pipeline context for “start low, finish four-year” paths. |
| Median “average cost of college” (all institutions reporting in TX) | $10,008 (median) · mean $14,347.70 | 187 institutions (mixed sectors) | Statewide cost pressure headline—not interchangeable with public four-year sticker. |
Outcome columns we sort on institution pages
- Completion: bachelor’s 150% graduation rate at the institution (Scorecard field family).
- Earnings: median earnings six (or ten) years after entering, with the same window for every row in a given table.
- Debt: median debt for borrowers completing; never compared to earnings from a mismatched cohort.
When we publish the Texas campus-level leaderboard, each row will link to the same Scorecard refresh noted in the table footer.
Analysis & insights
This page is intentionally sector-first: it anchors readers on Texas-wide medians before we sort individual campuses. The gap between public four-year sticker and the broader “average cost” row is the most misread pair on the site—one is a sector median, the other mixes every institution type in the Texas file. Treat the visualization as a reminder to keep those universes separate in copy.
When you move from benchmarks to decisions, use Ranking colleges by ROI with Texas filters, then open each school’s Scorecard profile for net price by income band and suppressed fields. Public two-year medians matter for transfer pipelines; they should not be compared directly to research-flagship outcomes without an explicit pathway story.
Data Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard — tuition, completion, earnings, and debt fields referenced on linked EDsmart Data pages.
- NCES IPEDS — sector and control confirmation for institution universes.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS — optional regional wage sidebars when cited with vintage.
- Methods: College Scorecard ROI methodology; tools Tuition trends by state, Average cost of college by state, Ranking colleges by ROI.