Money — i.e. making more of it — isn't the only reason to go to college. The pursuit of knowledge, the opportunity for self-discovery, the chance to test the hardiness of one's liver are also important benefits. But for people who have to make a living, college is in large part an investment, one that will pay off down the road in larger salaries and better job prospects. One of the problems with the college marketplace is that it's been difficult for prospective students and families to gauge post-graduate earning prospects.

Enter the federal government, which late last week released a trove of data showing the average earnings of graduates of essentially every college and university in the country a decade after they leave school. For undergraduate institutions nationally, the highest earners matriculate from MIT ($91,600 a decade out), which is hardly shocking. MIT is followed closely by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy ($89,000) and then Harvard ($87,200).

For Texas institutions, the numbers are more modest. The middle-of-the pack graduate of Rice University in Houston, whose alumni are the state's top earners, pulls in nearly $60,000 per year.