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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 121 | Duquesne University | B | $26,244 | $298 | $74,742 | 0.8 yrs |
| 122 | University of Scranton | B | $27,000 | $307 | $74,652 | 0.8 yrs |
| 123 | Wagner College | B | $25,000 | $284 | $74,360 | 0.7 yrs |
| 124 | Creighton University | B | $25,000 | $284 | $73,911 | 0.7 yrs |
| 125 | Wesleyan University | A | $17,000 | $193 | $73,897 | 0.5 yrs |
| 126 | University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences | A | $14,000 | $159 | $73,827 | 0.4 yrs |
| 127 | University of Wisconsin–Madison Wisconsin | B | $20,484 | $233 | $73,792 | 0.6 yrs |
| 128 | Ursinus College Pennsylvania | B | $27,000 | $307 | $73,721 | 0.8 yrs |
| 129 | Saint Anselm College | B | $27,000 | $307 | $73,371 | 0.8 yrs |
| 130 | The College of New Jersey | B | $23,250 | $264 | $73,323 | 0.7 yrs |
| 131 | Catholic University of America | B | $26,000 | $296 | $73,250 | 0.8 yrs |
| 132 | Western New England University | B | $25,500 | $290 | $73,157 | 0.8 yrs |
| 133 | University of Delaware Delaware | B | $24,572 | $279 | $72,950 | 0.7 yrs |
| 134 | University of Redlands | B | $26,000 | $296 | $72,690 | 0.8 yrs |
| 135 | Purdue University Indiana | B | $19,500 | $222 | $72,424 | 0.6 yrs |
| 136 | Oregon Institute of Technology | B | $22,500 | $256 | $72,273 | 0.7 yrs |
| 137 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | B | $27,000 | $307 | $72,257 | 0.8 yrs |
| 138 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina | A | $14,000 | $159 | $72,200 | 0.4 yrs |
| 139 | Regis University | B | $25,000 | $284 | $72,105 | 0.8 yrs |
| 140 | Texas A&M University - College Station | A | $17,804 | $202 | $72,097 | 0.6 yrs |
| 141 | Walsh College | A | $16,217 | $184 | $72,081 | 0.5 yrs |
| 142 | Drake University | B | $23,000 | $262 | $71,901 | 0.7 yrs |
| 143 | Kenyon College | A | $18,527 | $211 | $71,830 | 0.6 yrs |
| 144 | University of Massachusetts Amherst Massachusetts | B | $22,763 | $259 | $71,631 | 0.7 yrs |
| 145 | University of Florida | A | $15,000 | $171 | $71,588 | 0.5 yrs |
| 146 | Loyola University Chicago Illinois | B | $24,157 | $275 | $71,530 | 0.8 yrs |
| 147 | Gettysburg College | B | $26,999 | $307 | $71,517 | 0.8 yrs |
| 148 | Clemson University | B | $21,500 | $244 | $71,513 | 0.7 yrs |
| 149 | Vassar College | A | $18,625 | $212 | $71,366 | 0.6 yrs |
| 150 | Yeshiva University | A | $18,250 | $208 | $71,353 | 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.