Colleges with the best bang for your buck

20-year return on investment: $968,500
Avg. total cost: $223,400
Avg. annual scholarships and grants: $31,445

Like the other top spot holders on PayScale's list, Caltech's curriculum places a strong emphasis on science and engineering.

Located in Pasadena, Calif., the school is home to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory where research focuses on robotic exploration of the solar system. The school has also been the launching pad for more than 80 companies who developed their technology on campus since 1995.

Engineering graduates, like those from CalTech, typically out-earn high school grads by $620,000 over 20 years, according to PayScale. By comparison, alumni of liberal arts colleges can expect to out-earn high school grads by $218,866 over 20 years.

First published April 7, 2014: 7:15 AM ET

Source: PayScale
PayScale economists calculated the total median pay for a school's undergraduate alumnus over a 20-year career and compared it to that of a high school graduate who worked for 24 to 26 years. They then subtracted the college's average cost of attending -- including tuition, room and board, and books -- and took scholarships and grants into account. From that, they determined the school's return on investment (in 2013 dollars). Alumni who went onto graduate school or other higher education were excluded from the calculations.

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