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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 241 | Indiana University Bloomington Indiana | B | $19,509 | $222 | $63,742 | 0.8 yrs |
| 242 | Temple University | C | $24,395 | $277 | $63,727 | 1 yrs |
| 243 | University of North Dakota North Dakota | B | $22,057 | $251 | $63,552 | 0.9 yrs |
| 244 | Ithaca College New York | C | $24,000 | $273 | $63,548 | 1 yrs |
| 245 | Columbia Southern University | B | $21,339 | $243 | $63,534 | 0.9 yrs |
| 246 | Wilkes University | C | $26,000 | $296 | $63,454 | 1.1 yrs |
| 247 | Benedictine University Illinois | B | $22,500 | $256 | $63,446 | 0.9 yrs |
| 248 | Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania | C | $25,000 | $284 | $63,435 | 1.1 yrs |
| 249 | Iowa State University Iowa | B | $22,869 | $260 | $63,386 | 1 yrs |
| 250 | College of Saint Benedict | C | $26,944 | $306 | $63,260 | 1.1 yrs |
| 251 | University of Texas at Arlington | B | $17,527 | $199 | $63,199 | 0.7 yrs |
| 252 | Valparaiso University Indiana | C | $26,942 | $306 | $63,191 | 1.1 yrs |
| 253 | California State University, Stanislaus | A | $13,540 | $154 | $63,188 | 0.6 yrs |
| 254 | California State University, Fullerton | B | $13,750 | $156 | $62,951 | 0.6 yrs |
| 255 | Reed College | B | $21,500 | $244 | $62,927 | 0.9 yrs |
| 256 | California State University, San Marcos | B | $17,350 | $197 | $62,908 | 0.7 yrs |
| 257 | Emerson College | C | $23,000 | $262 | $62,832 | 1 yrs |
| 258 | Grinnell College | B | $17,500 | $199 | $62,830 | 0.8 yrs |
| 259 | Le Moyne College | C | $23,000 | $262 | $62,731 | 1 yrs |
| 260 | Lebanon Valley College | C | $27,000 | $307 | $62,621 | 1.2 yrs |
| 261 | University of Minnesota - Duluth | B | $22,024 | $250 | $62,616 | 1 yrs |
| 262 | Western Washington University | B | $18,500 | $210 | $62,569 | 0.8 yrs |
| 263 | University of Vermont Vermont | B | $20,951 | $238 | $62,472 | 0.9 yrs |
| 264 | Texas Tech University Texas | B | $21,500 | $244 | $62,454 | 0.9 yrs |
| 265 | Elizabethtown College | C | $27,000 | $307 | $62,399 | 1.2 yrs |
| 266 | University of Houston Texas | B | $18,194 | $207 | $62,377 | 0.8 yrs |
| 267 | Rider University | C | $26,130 | $297 | $62,208 | 1.2 yrs |
| 268 | Lewis & Clark College | B | $19,500 | $222 | $62,205 | 0.9 yrs |
| 269 | North Dakota State University North Dakota | C | $23,199 | $264 | $62,203 | 1 yrs |
| 270 | California State University Channel Islands | B | $15,000 | $171 | $62,152 | 0.7 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.