Not all degrees guarantee higher lifetime earnings compared to entering the workforce after high school without a degree - as some degrees may end up costing more than their financial benefits.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Kayla Zhu, shows the average return on investment of a degree in the U.S., based on analysis from CollegeNPV of data from the U.S. Department of Education and Bureau of Labor Statistics.

STEM Degrees Have The Best Bang For Their Buck

Below, we show the average return on investment of various degrees in the U.S.

Engineering, computer and information sciences, mathematics, and engineering technician degrees are the most valuable degrees in the U.S. when looking at expected lifetime income minus debt compared to working right after high school without a degree.

As for specific programs, Harvard University's computer science degree ranks first for ROI, according to CollegeNPV.

Graduates of this program can expect an ROI of over $4 million in their lifetime, with $256,539 in median income and $14,000 in median debt.