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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | Drexel University Pennsylvania | A | $25,325 | $288 | $84,648 | 0.6 yrs |
| 62 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | A | $21,000 | $239 | $84,276 | 0.5 yrs |
| 63 | Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art | A | $15,000 | $171 | $83,847 | 0.3 yrs |
| 64 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | A | $19,500 | $222 | $83,648 | 0.4 yrs |
| 65 | Boston University Massachusetts | A | $23,250 | $264 | $83,238 | 0.5 yrs |
| 66 | Tufts University | A | $16,250 | $185 | $83,214 | 0.4 yrs |
| 67 | Missouri University of Science and Technology | A | $23,250 | $264 | $82,957 | 0.5 yrs |
| 68 | Pepperdine University | A | $23,510 | $267 | $82,939 | 0.5 yrs |
| 69 | University of Maryland, College Park | A | $19,000 | $216 | $82,860 | 0.4 yrs |
| 70 | University of Portland | A | $21,370 | $243 | $82,804 | 0.5 yrs |
| 71 | Bowdoin College | A | $18,500 | $210 | $82,735 | 0.4 yrs |
| 72 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | A | $25,028 | $285 | $82,721 | 0.6 yrs |
| 73 | Illinois Institute of Technology | A | $25,000 | $284 | $82,592 | 0.6 yrs |
| 74 | University of California, Los Angeles | A | $14,000 | $159 | $82,511 | 0.3 yrs |
| 75 | New York University New York | A | $20,500 | $233 | $82,509 | 0.5 yrs |
| 76 | Denver College of Nursing Colorado | B | $26,500 | $301 | $81,809 | 0.6 yrs |
| 77 | Davidson College | A | $18,688 | $212 | $81,400 | 0.5 yrs |
| 78 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Illinois | A | $19,500 | $222 | $81,054 | 0.5 yrs |
| 79 | Ohio Northern University | B | $27,000 | $307 | $80,928 | 0.7 yrs |
| 80 | University of California Davis California | A | $13,000 | $148 | $80,838 | 0.3 yrs |
| 81 | University of California, Irvine | A | $15,000 | $171 | $80,735 | 0.4 yrs |
| 82 | Barnard College | A | $18,000 | $205 | $80,516 | 0.4 yrs |
| 83 | Colby College | A | $19,157 | $218 | $80,490 | 0.5 yrs |
| 84 | Swarthmore College | A | $17,500 | $199 | $80,257 | 0.4 yrs |
| 85 | Emory University Georgia | A | $18,250 | $208 | $80,137 | 0.5 yrs |
| 86 | DigiPen Institute of Technology | B | $27,000 | $307 | $79,878 | 0.7 yrs |
| 87 | Syracuse University New York | B | $26,000 | $296 | $79,164 | 0.7 yrs |
| 88 | San Jose State University | A | $15,000 | $171 | $78,988 | 0.4 yrs |
| 89 | Gonzaga University | B | $24,454 | $278 | $78,892 | 0.6 yrs |
| 90 | Saint Mary's College of California | B | $23,691 | $269 | $78,812 | 0.6 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.