Amid rising debt, rapidly evolving technology, and a shifting job market, CourseCompare has launched Canada’s first Return on Education (ROE) Index: a national benchmark ranking diplomas and degrees by how quickly they pay off. The ROE Index combines tuition, program length, debt, post-grad salaries, and projected job growth into a single score, giving students a clear view of which programs deliver the fastest return.

Why We Created The ROE Index in 2025

For years, students and families have asked the same questions: Is post-secondary education still worth it? Which programs deliver the greatest payoff, fastest? With inflation and student debt rising, automation anxiety mounting, and the labour market rapidly evolving, that question has never felt more urgent.

At CourseCompare, we hear from more than two million learners each year—people choosing between diplomas and degrees, considering career pivots, or re-entering the workforce, who want data they can trust to guide their decisions.

That’s why we created the Return on Education (ROE) Index: to cut through uncertainty and help students see which programs deliver the fastest financial return, without losing sight of the bigger picture.

Methodology

The ROE Index ranks Canada’s 20 most popular diploma and bachelor’s degree programs based on how quickly graduates can pay back the time and money they invest in their education.

Using Statistics Canada data, CourseCompare’s proprietary learner insights, and tuition figures gathered directly from institutions, we calculated:

• Average tuition
• Average program duration
• Average graduate debt
• Median salary two years after graduation
• Average time to break even
• Projected job growth (applied as a score multiplier)

All dollar values were adjusted to 2025 using cumulative inflation. Programs were scored against a baseline ROE of 100 (with separate baselines for diplomas and degrees to ensure fair comparison). Scores above 100 indicate stronger-than-average short-term returns; scores below 100 indicate weaker-than-average short-term returns.

Want to dig even further into the data sources, formula, and limitations of our approach? See our detailed methodology here.

ROE Scores for 2025

Diplomas

Hands-on programs in trades and healthcare deliver the fastest, most reliable returns

Canada’s diploma programs reveal a clear trend: hands-on, in-person professions deliver the strongest short-term returns on education. This year’s top diploma programs—Automotive Service Technician, Construction/Building Technician, Pharmacy Technician, and Registered/Licensed Practical Nurse—combine low tuition costs, shorter durations, and steady salaries to create fast breakeven timelines that push them well above the national baseline. Graduates of trades programs in particular are the fastest to breakeven, taking less than three years on average for Automotive Service and Construction Technicians.

Another defining feature of these programs is their low risk of automation. Trades, care work, and health-related fields require in-person work that cannot easily be replicated by technology. This gives graduates stronger job security and more reliable long-term career stability than digital-first programs.

Diplomas in the care economy also highlight how affordability and accessibility reduce barriers to entry. Early Childhood Education, for example, ranks highly despite modest salaries and an average breakeven timeline because programs are short and tuition is affordable.

By contrast, the return on digital diplomas is slipping. Once viewed as pathways to lucrative careers, programs in Graphic Design, Marketing, and Web Development now yield slower, less predictable returns. While Web Development still performs at the national average, its payoff has fallen sharply compared to just a few years ago. With longer break-even timelines—double or even triple the amount of time spent in school—and a more saturated job market, digital diplomas are losing ground to hands-on alternatives in healthcare and the skilled trades.

Degrees

STEM dominates—but degree holders are more likely to play the long game

The strongest returns among bachelor’s degrees are concentrated in STEM and healthcare. Computer Science, Nursing, and Engineering lead the pack, combining strong salary-to-debt payoff ratios, short breakeven timelines (four years or less), and healthy job growth projections. These programs stand out as some of the most reliably future-proof degrees in Canada today.

That said, not all STEM degrees are created equal. While Computer Science stands out as the top performer, Engineering delivers solid but slightly lower returns, and Biology falls closer to the bottom of the list. Despite concerns of software engineering and web development being replaced by AI, Computer Science grads with skills in data analysis and machine learning remain in high demand, with strong job growth projections. Programs like Biology, on the other hand, often serve as stepping stones to graduate education, requiring more time and money up front before graduates see meaningful returns. Overall, programs that provide hands-on, technical knowledge usable immediately in the workforce pay off faster.

It’s clear that popularity does not always equal payoff. Psychology, Political Science, Biology, and English rank below the national average despite being among the most common choices for students. These programs typically require greater investment into further education before real returns appear, stretching breakeven timelines to six years or more. This puts these programs at a disadvantage in terms of immediate financial efficiency (and therefore ROE Score), especially compared to diplomas.

Arts degrees, meanwhile, represent the clearest passion-versus-payoff trade-off. Fields such as English and Fine Arts deliver lower post-graduation salaries and require more time to recover costs, making them financially risky in the short term. (Statistically, it would take a Fine Arts graduate making an average post-grad artist salary without other supplemental income 21.5 years to break even on their investment.) Still, many students pursue them for creative fulfillment or as pathways to graduate-level specialization, underscoring that ROI is just one factor in choosing an education.

How Canadians Feel About the Value of Post-Secondary Education

Canadians are increasingly unsure whether a diploma or degree is worth the time, effort, and cost. In a new national survey commissioned by CourseCompare with Ipsos, 48% said post-secondary education is “definitely worth it,” 13% said it is “definitely not,” and 39% were unsure. The survey of 1,000 adults was conducted in August 2025 and is nationally representative by region, gender, income, and age.

Overall, confidence in higher education is mixed. While some see it as a clear path to career success, many Canadians remain uncertain, highlighting the impact of tuition costs, rising debt, and a shifting job market on perceptions of value. Ontario and Quebec residents were the most confident, with 52% and 53% saying education is worth the investment, respectively. In Alberta and British Columbia, skepticism was higher, with 20% and 18% saying the cost outweighs the benefits. Atlantic Canada stands out for uncertainty, with more than half of respondents (54%) unsure.

Gen Z is the most uncertain of the generations, with 46% unsure about the value of a degree or diploma, while more than half of Boomers (54%) remain confident. These differences clearly reflect how rising cost of living, tuition, and changing career landscapes are shaping attitudes toward higher education.

The Perception Gap

These findings point to a perception gap: while the ROE Index shows many programs delivering strong, measurable short-term returns, public sentiment is uncertain. This gap may reflect broader anxieties around affordability, economic uncertainty, and job security in a rapidly changing labour market.

‘I’m Applying to School This Fall. What Do I Do?’

There’s no one right answer when it comes to choosing a program. For some, education is a strategic investment: a way to pivot careers quickly, build in-demand skills, and see a fast return on time and money. For others, it’s about pursuing a passion or laying the groundwork for a longer-term journey that may take years to fully pay off. These calculations vary greatly if you have savings you can comfortably invest in tuition and a safety net that allows you to take time away from work while you study.

Not all value can be measured in dollars—but when it comes to paying for your education, the numbers matter. The ROE Index equips students with a clear, data-driven benchmark to understand which diplomas and degrees offer the strongest short-term returns, while also leaving room for the personal and professional goals that can’t be captured in a single score.

Whether you’re choosing passion, payoff, or a bit of both, the ROE Index helps you make that decision with all the information at your fingertips.

CourseCompare Editorial Team

CourseCompare is Canada's marketplace for education. Its editorial staff consists of award-winning journalists, visual storytellers, data analysts and web developers working together to help prepare people for the future of work.