Ordered by median earnings ten years after entry — with the debt each cohort carries, because a big salary against a bigger loan is not a win. The typical graded US university clears its debt in 1.3 years on median earnings of $57,089 against $22,500 of debt.
| # | University | Grade | You borrow | Monthly | You earn | Debt clears in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 631 | Oklahoma Christian University | F | $26,000 | $296 | $49,203 | 2.7 yrs |
| 632 | Irvine Valley College | B | $6,500 | $74 | $49,156 | 0.7 yrs |
| 633 | Buena Vista University | D | $25,000 | $284 | $49,156 | 2.6 yrs |
| 634 | University of West Florida | D | $16,624 | $189 | $49,137 | 1.7 yrs |
| 635 | Marymount Manhattan College New York | D | $25,750 | $293 | $49,131 | 2.7 yrs |
| 636 | Lake Superior State University | D | $23,250 | $264 | $49,045 | 2.4 yrs |
| 637 | Rocky Mountain College | F | $26,000 | $296 | $49,036 | 2.7 yrs |
| 638 | Howard Community College | C | $10,500 | $119 | $49,020 | 1.1 yrs |
| 639 | Fort Hays State University | D | $21,000 | $239 | $48,928 | 2.2 yrs |
| 640 | University of Alaska - Fairbanks | D | $20,291 | $231 | $48,866 | 2.2 yrs |
| 641 | McMurry University | F | $27,000 | $307 | $48,779 | 2.9 yrs |
| 642 | Georgia Southwestern State University | D | $18,851 | $214 | $48,757 | 2 yrs |
| 643 | Roosevelt University | D | $22,000 | $250 | $48,712 | 2.4 yrs |
| 644 | New England Institute of Technology | D | $16,668 | $190 | $48,684 | 1.8 yrs |
| 645 | Our Lady of the Lake University | F | $24,999 | $284 | $48,675 | 2.7 yrs |
| 646 | University of Maine Maine | F | $25,000 | $284 | $48,653 | 2.7 yrs |
| 647 | University of Maine at Machias | F | $25,000 | $284 | $48,653 | 2.7 yrs |
| 648 | Middle Tennessee State University | D | $20,000 | $227 | $48,541 | 2.2 yrs |
| 649 | Tennessee Technological University Tennessee | D | $15,650 | $178 | $48,501 | 1.7 yrs |
| 650 | University of Alaska - Southeast | D | $19,111 | $217 | $48,475 | 2.1 yrs |
| 651 | Augusta University | D | $20,500 | $233 | $48,472 | 2.3 yrs |
| 652 | University of Memphis Tennessee | D | $23,300 | $265 | $48,458 | 2.6 yrs |
| 653 | Oklahoma Baptist University | F | $24,801 | $282 | $48,434 | 2.8 yrs |
| 654 | Indiana State University | F | $24,000 | $273 | $48,387 | 2.7 yrs |
| 655 | Saint Leo University | F | $25,278 | $287 | $48,364 | 2.9 yrs |
| 656 | University of Central Oklahoma Oklahoma | D | $21,000 | $239 | $48,351 | 2.4 yrs |
| 657 | Purdue University Northwest | D | $21,229 | $241 | $48,318 | 2.4 yrs |
| 658 | The University of North Carolina at Greensboro North Carolina | D | $22,858 | $260 | $48,160 | 2.7 yrs |
| 659 | New College of Florida | D | $17,375 | $198 | $48,082 | 2 yrs |
| 660 | Newberry College | F | $26,805 | $305 | $48,040 | 3.2 yrs |
Several universities near the top of this list also carry some of the heaviest borrowing in the country. Earning well while repaying heavily is not obviously better than earning less with nothing to repay — which is why the debt column sits right beside the salary.
The earnings figure blends every subject a university teaches. A campus that teaches nothing but medicine or engineering reports the medicine or engineering number; a broad university reports a blended one, however strong its individual departments are.
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard. Figures cover students who received federal financial aid and blend every subject at each institution. Information only, not financial advice.