The cost of attending the University of Rhode Island is going up, but the editors at one financial magazine say it’s still a bargain — and an investment that pays off in the long run.

According to next month’s issue of SmartMoney magazine, URI ranks 15th in a nationwide study of private and public colleges analyzing the connection between tuition costs and graduates’ earning power. The magazine examined colleges based on “their ability to deliver the best return on investment,” and URI ranked the highest institution in New England. Brown University was ranked 36th.

This year, URI’s in-state tuition and fees run about $9,000 and average room and board costs another $10,000. Elite private colleges, such as Brown, cost more than twice as much — almost $48,000 this year for tuition and fees, room and board. While the academic experience at select colleges may be rich, it doesn’t necessarily pay off economically for all students, the survey says.

The SmartMoney survey found that many public universities were a better investment when tuition and fees were factored into how much graduates earn in their early and mid-careers. The state universities of Delaware and Rhode Island beat out every Ivy League university based on this analysis.

Out of the public universities in New England, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst followed URI in 18th place; the University of New Hampshire, 23rd; the University of Vermont; 42nd. The University of Georgia — another public institution — came in first place, and according to the magazine’s analysis, delivered a payback nearly three times that of Harvard, which ranked 25th.

“We’ve known all along that our students receive an outstanding education for a tremendous value,” Cynthia Bonn, URI’s dean of admission, said in a news release. “It’s great that SmartMoney did the research that showed how well our graduates are doing, and that they are not burdened by the amount of debt that graduates of pricier schools are incurring.”

SmartMoney teamed with consultant PayScale.com to analyze what graduates from 50 of the most expensive four-year colleges earn after they graduate, factoring in tuition and fee costs.

On average, graduates of Ivy League and liberal-arts institutions earned more than graduates of public institutions three years after graduation — $51,000 a year compared with $48,500, and the gap widens more after 15 years.

But when college costs are factored in, the “long-term payback” picture shifts, ranking Georgia Tech far above Dartmouth and Texas A&M above Swarthmore, for example.

Some private schools have criticized the survey, saying that the salary analysis does not include advanced degrees, just bachelor’s degrees. “The real earning power is what they end up doing in professional and graduate school,” said Paul Thiboutot, dean of admissions for Carleton College, a small liberal- arts school in Minnesota.

The survey also did not consider the institution’s educational quality, selectivity, financial aid or alumni networking opportunities.