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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91 | Hamilton College | A | $17,000 | $193 | $78,411 | 0.4 yrs |
| 92 | Southern Methodist University Texas | A | $19,500 | $222 | $78,354 | 0.5 yrs |
| 93 | Loyola Marymount University | A | $19,500 | $222 | $78,349 | 0.5 yrs |
| 94 | Marquette University | B | $23,940 | $272 | $78,257 | 0.6 yrs |
| 95 | Michigan Technological University Michigan | B | $24,990 | $284 | $78,198 | 0.7 yrs |
| 96 | Wake Forest University | A | $21,500 | $244 | $78,158 | 0.6 yrs |
| 97 | Pomona College California | A | $11,782 | $134 | $77,779 | 0.3 yrs |
| 98 | Amherst College | A | $13,740 | $156 | $77,644 | 0.4 yrs |
| 99 | Thomas Jefferson University | A | $14,744 | $168 | $77,449 | 0.4 yrs |
| 100 | Virginia Military Institute | B | $22,996 | $261 | $77,369 | 0.6 yrs |
| 101 | Butler University | B | $26,000 | $296 | $77,235 | 0.7 yrs |
| 102 | Brandeis University Massachusetts | B | $25,648 | $292 | $77,231 | 0.7 yrs |
| 103 | Colorado State University - Global Campus | B | $25,000 | $284 | $76,813 | 0.7 yrs |
| 104 | Rochester Institute of Technology New York | B | $26,778 | $304 | $76,571 | 0.7 yrs |
| 105 | New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology | A | $19,085 | $217 | $76,489 | 0.5 yrs |
| 106 | George Mason University Virginia | A | $19,500 | $222 | $76,343 | 0.5 yrs |
| 107 | Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey California | A | $13,857 | $158 | $76,310 | 0.4 yrs |
| 108 | Middlebury College | A | $13,857 | $158 | $76,310 | 0.4 yrs |
| 109 | University of Richmond | A | $21,000 | $239 | $76,178 | 0.6 yrs |
| 110 | Franklin and Marshall College | A | $19,000 | $216 | $76,124 | 0.5 yrs |
| 111 | Occidental College | B | $23,000 | $262 | $75,951 | 0.6 yrs |
| 112 | Carleton College | A | $16,750 | $190 | $75,525 | 0.5 yrs |
| 113 | Adelphi University | B | $25,000 | $284 | $75,482 | 0.7 yrs |
| 114 | University of Miami Florida | A | $17,500 | $199 | $75,328 | 0.5 yrs |
| 115 | Seattle University Washington | A | $19,883 | $226 | $75,272 | 0.6 yrs |
| 116 | Bryn Mawr College | B | $25,000 | $284 | $75,217 | 0.7 yrs |
| 117 | University of Texas at Austin Texas | A | $20,500 | $233 | $75,121 | 0.6 yrs |
| 118 | Sacred Heart University | B | $25,000 | $284 | $75,059 | 0.7 yrs |
| 119 | Connecticut College | B | $23,500 | $267 | $75,001 | 0.7 yrs |
| 120 | University of California, Santa Barbara | A | $13,993 | $159 | $74,915 | 0.4 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.