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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 661 | Bowling Green State University | F | $25,000 | $284 | $47,896 | 3 yrs |
| 662 | Northwest Missouri State University Missouri | D | $21,500 | $244 | $47,885 | 2.6 yrs |
| 663 | University of New Orleans | D | $18,750 | $213 | $47,872 | 2.2 yrs |
| 664 | University of Hawaii at Hilo | D | $20,500 | $233 | $47,856 | 2.5 yrs |
| 665 | Georgia Gwinnett College | D | $20,076 | $228 | $47,730 | 2.5 yrs |
| 666 | University of Maryland Eastern Shore | F | $27,000 | $307 | $47,697 | 3.3 yrs |
| 667 | Northern State University | F | $22,320 | $254 | $47,618 | 2.8 yrs |
| 668 | University of Southern Indiana Indiana | D | $20,105 | $229 | $47,605 | 2.5 yrs |
| 669 | Emporia State University | D | $19,500 | $222 | $47,601 | 2.4 yrs |
| 670 | Indiana University Southeast | D | $19,684 | $224 | $47,596 | 2.4 yrs |
| 671 | Guilford College | F | $26,000 | $296 | $47,590 | 3.2 yrs |
| 672 | Hesston College | C | $12,000 | $136 | $47,495 | 1.5 yrs |
| 673 | Bethel University | F | $27,249 | $310 | $47,482 | 3.4 yrs |
| 674 | The Culinary Institute of America | D | $15,750 | $179 | $47,475 | 2 yrs |
| 675 | Mercyhurst University Pennsylvania | F | $25,305 | $288 | $47,452 | 3.2 yrs |
| 676 | Georgia State University | D | $20,903 | $238 | $47,384 | 2.7 yrs |
| 677 | Indiana Institute of Technology | F | $26,391 | $300 | $47,327 | 3.4 yrs |
| 678 | Coastal Carolina University | F | $23,750 | $270 | $47,258 | 3.1 yrs |
| 679 | Young Harris College | F | $27,000 | $307 | $47,195 | 3.5 yrs |
| 680 | Winthrop University | F | $26,975 | $307 | $47,185 | 3.5 yrs |
| 681 | Northern Michigan University Michigan | F | $21,474 | $244 | $47,107 | 2.8 yrs |
| 682 | Peru State College | F | $21,875 | $249 | $47,071 | 2.9 yrs |
| 683 | Chadron State College | D | $18,875 | $215 | $47,002 | 2.5 yrs |
| 684 | Hampshire College | F | $26,893 | $306 | $46,938 | 3.6 yrs |
| 685 | Oral Roberts University | F | $27,000 | $307 | $46,885 | 3.7 yrs |
| 686 | Fairmont State University West Virginia | F | $21,000 | $239 | $46,857 | 2.9 yrs |
| 687 | University of Louisiana at Monroe | F | $21,500 | $244 | $46,769 | 3 yrs |
| 688 | Columbia Basin College | D | $14,829 | $169 | $46,680 | 2.1 yrs |
| 689 | Black Hills State University | F | $26,000 | $296 | $46,674 | 3.6 yrs |
| 690 | Huntington University | F | $25,576 | $291 | $46,672 | 3.6 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.