College dataData from U.S. Dept of EducationUpdated May 2026 · 4 min read
Data: 2026-05 Next refresh: Nov 2026

Williams College: Cost, Graduate Salary, Acceptance Rate and Return on Investment

Williams College is a private nonprofit college in Williamstown, MA. Students pay about $17,716 a year in net price, and the median graduate earns $88,665 ten years after enrolling. By our Degree-ROI measure the degree pays back in about 2 years and adds $336,025 over a decade, ranking it #31 of 918 (top 4%) by value added.

Avg net price / yr
$17,716
Median salary (10 yrs)
$88,665
10-yr value added
$336,025
Acceptance rate
8.3%

What is Williams College's acceptance rate?

Williams College has an acceptance rate of 8.3%, which makes it highly selective. It is a private nonprofit institution in Williamstown, MA enrolling about 2,076 students, with a 95.1% graduation rate.

How much does Williams College cost?

Williams College costs about $17,716 per year in average net price, what a typical student actually pays after grants and scholarships. Over four years, including typical borrowing, that totals roughly $83,625. Published sticker cost of attendance is $84,860 per year.

How much do Williams College graduates earn?

Ten years after enrolling, the median Williams College student earns $88,665 per year. That is $41,965 more than the $46,700 that the typical worker with only a high-school diploma earns.

Is Williams College worth it? Degree ROI and payback period

Williams College pays back its roughly $83,625 cost in about 2 years, then keeps returning the earnings premium. Over the first decade the degree adds about $336,025 net of cost, a 5.02x return on the money invested. That ranks it #31 of 918 (top 4%) by value added. Its top-tier value is driven mainly by strong graduate earnings and a high graduation rate.

Top 10% value

Williams College graduation rate and student debt

95.1% of Williams College students complete their degree, and the median graduate leaves with $12,761 in federal student debt. That debt is about 14% of one year of median graduate earnings.

Williams College by the numbers (vs the typical college)

How Williams College compares to the median four-year college in our snapshot. Percentile is its rank among the 918 colleges that report both earnings and cost (higher is better).

MetricThis schoolMedian collegePercentile
Avg net price / yr$17,716$20,299cheaper than 62%
Median earnings (10 yrs)$88,665$54,76895th
Graduation rate95.1%57.0%99th
Acceptance rate8.3%75.7%more selective than 98%
10-yr value added$336,025-$28,19297th
ROI multiple (per $1)5.02x0.73x97th
Payback period2 yrs8.8 yrsfaster than 97%
How we compute Degree value-add & ROI. Investment basis = average net price × 4 years + median debt (net price preferred; published sticker cost used as a fallback). Earnings premium = median earnings 10 years after entry minus the $46,700 typical earnings of a worker with only a high-school diploma (BLS Current Population Survey, median annual earnings for workers with a high-school diploma and no college (~$899/week, 2023)). Degree value-add = premium × 10 years minus total cost, the net return of the degree itself over a high-school career (it can be negative). ROI multiple = 10-year premium ÷ cost. Payback = cost ÷ annual premium. Ranked by value-add among the 918 four-year colleges in this snapshot that report both earnings and cost; 226 of them do not pay back at ten years. Missing values are excluded, never estimated.
Open data: these figures come from the public College Scorecard (public domain). Our computed Degree value-add, ROI multiple, and payback are free to cite/reuse under CC-BY 4.0.

Frequently asked

Is Williams College worth the cost compared to other colleges?

By value added net of cost, Williams College ranks #31 of 918 (top 4%) of the 918 four-year colleges we rank, and returns about 5.02x the money invested over a decade.

Is Williams College expensive compared to other colleges?

Its $17,716 average net price is below the $20,299 median for the colleges in this snapshot, making it cheaper than 62% of them.

Do Williams College graduates earn more than average?

Median earnings of $88,665 ten years out are above the $54,768 median, higher than 95% of the colleges here.

How hard is it to get into Williams College compared to other colleges?

Its 8.3% acceptance rate is below the 75.7% median, making it more selective than 98% of the colleges in the snapshot.

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