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Revisiting Student Earnings Through the Lens of Regional Public Universities

ByBlake Decker

Throughout our past few blog posts, numerous data elements have supported the broad perspective that Regional Public Universities (RPUs) are distinctive entities when compared to Non-RPU institutions. In reviewing over 100 numerical variables published by the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges (ARRC), meaningful differences existed across more than 8 out of every 10 variables when comparing RPU and Non-RPU institutions. In our previous blog post, we looked at the “Student Access” portion from the Student Access and Earnings Classification (SAEC) metrics included in the new 2025 Carnegie Classification system, finding that RPU institutions appear to provide more opportunities for low-income students and students from underrepresented minority populations to earn college-level credentials when compared to the region-based comparison groups.

This blog post presents data related to the “Student Earnings” portion of the SAEC metrics as it relates to comparing RPUs and Non-RPUs on this vital student outcome. By definition, the Earnings Measure compares median post-attendance earnings as reported by the College Scorecard to earnings of people ages 22-40 who hold a high school diploma or higher in an institution’s region. The source for earnings data is the College Scorecard, which shows “median earnings eight years after entry for all Title IV undergraduate students” (Carnegie Classification). This means the Earnings data include students who completed a degree and those who did not.

student earnings: Students from non-RPUs earn more than counterparts at rpus

In the first visualization below, we see the distribution of median student earnings by RPU status, as defined and reported in the ARRC data.

  • The average median earnings for Non-RPU institutions ($61,699) was $14,134 higher than the average median earnings for RPU institutions ($47,566) in the ARRC data, representing a 29% higher median earnings for students from Non-RPUs compared to students from RPUs.
  • Looking to the left of the vertical line marking the average for Non-RPUs (around $62K), we see that over 94% of RPU institutions have median student earnings values that are below the average median earnings of $61,699 for students from Non-RPU institutions.
  • There are four public universities in Texas with higher median student earnings than the average of $62K for Non-RPUs: University of Texas at Austin ($68,554), Texas A&M University ($66,077), University of Texas at Dallas ($64,228), and University of Texas at Arlington ($63,000).
  • Across RPUs in Texas, median student earnings ranged from the highest at Midwestern State University ($52,991) to the lowest at Texas Southern University ($36,745). Even at the top end for Texas RPUs, Midwestern State’s median earnings were $8,708 below the average for Non-RPUs.

The visualization below provides the distribution of Student Earnings Ratios by RPU status for institutions in the ARRC data. The Earnings Ratio metric shows which institutions have median earnings higher (above 1.0) or lower (below 1.0) than the comparison group. The Earnings Ratio is calculated directly by dividing institutional median earnings by comparison group median earnings.

  • Based on the visualization below, the average Earnings Ratio for Non-RPUs (1.60) is 15% higher than the average Earnings Ratio (1.39) for RPU institutions when comparing institutions to their location-based comparison groups.
  • These ratios mean that both types of institutions are outperforming their comparison groups: 60% higher for Non-RPUs and 39% higher for RPUs.
    • Non-RPU Earnings Ratio: The average median earnings for students from Non-RPU institutions were $61,699, while the comparison group’s average median earnings were $38,562, resulting in the 1.60 average earnings ratio.
    • RPU Earnings Ratio: The average median earnings for students from RPU institutions were $47,566, while the comparison group’s average median earnings were $34,220, resulting in the 1.39 average earnings ratio.
  • Of the 31 Texas public universities in the ARRC data, the RPU-designated University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) had the highest earnings ratio at 1.91, meaning UTRGV ($44,456) had 91% higher earnings than their comparison group ($23,334).
  • Five other public universities in Texas had earnings ratios above 1.60: University of Texas at El Paso (1.78 ratio – $44,575 vs $25,108); Texas A&M International University (1.77 ratio – $43,366 vs $24,469); University of Texas at Austin (1.77 ratio – $68,554 vs $38,821); Midwestern State University (1.74 ratio – $52,991 vs $30,541); Texas A&M University (1.69 ratio – $66,077 vs $39,190).

So What?

Across our posts comparing RPU and Non-RPU institutions, many data elements have shown that RPUs and Non-RPUs are quantitatively different entities across a large swath of variables in the ARRC data. The variables used in Carnegie’s new Student Access and Earnings Classification (SAEC) framework further support the distinctive nature of RPUs and Non-RPUs when institutional data are couched in terms of the regions they serve. In our previous post on the Access Measure, RPU institutions seem to provide more opportunities for low-income students and students from underrepresented minority populations to earn college-level credentials. On the Earnings Measure variables presented above, both RPUs and Non-RPUs provide an earnings boost to their students over their comparison groups, with students from Non-RPUs earning more than students from RPU institutions. In our final blog post in the series, we will take a look at a few more variables related to the differences in student populations and outcomes at RPU and Non-RPU institutions.