Americans think higher education can help people economically, particularly in their home states, according to this Public Agenda/USA TODAY Hidden Common Ground (HCG) research. But by a variety of measures, Americans question whether the benefits of college are worth the cost. This report summarizes findings from a nationally representative survey of 1,662 adult Americans 18 years and older. The survey was designed by Public Agenda, fielded May 3-6, 2022, by Ipsos. Public Agenda conducted three demographically diverse online focus groups in January 2022. The sample was randomly drawn from Ipsos' online panel, partner online panel sources, and "river" sampling. Post-hoc weights were made to the population characteristics on gender, age, race/ethnicity, region, and education. Findings from the research include: (1) Strong cross-partisan, cross-racial majorities believe that higher education can benefit working adults. The consensus is weaker on how much it benefits the economy overall or our democracy, but when people focus on their states, more are confident about the economic benefits of higher education; (2) While recognizing its potential benefits, many Americans question whether a college education is worth it; (3) Very strong cross-partisan and cross-racial majorities agree on a broad range of approaches to making public higher education more affordable; (4) There is surprising cross-partisan and cross-racial agreement on state investments to support Black and Latino students as well as low-income students; and (5) When people know what they are paying for, substantially more are willing to invest in public higher education. [This report was co-produced by USA TODAY. This report is based on research funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.]