Ordered by median federal debt at graduation — smallest loan first, with what graduates go on to earn beside it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 421 | Colorado School of Mines | A | $23,000 | $262 | $97,335 | 0.4 yrs |
| 422 | University of San Francisco California | A | $23,000 | $262 | $89,812 | 0.5 yrs |
| 423 | Occidental College | B | $23,000 | $262 | $75,951 | 0.6 yrs |
| 424 | Drake University | B | $23,000 | $262 | $71,901 | 0.7 yrs |
| 425 | Baylor University | B | $23,000 | $262 | $65,793 | 0.9 yrs |
| 426 | Macalester College | B | $23,000 | $262 | $63,878 | 0.9 yrs |
| 427 | Emerson College | C | $23,000 | $262 | $62,832 | 1 yrs |
| 428 | Le Moyne College | C | $23,000 | $262 | $62,731 | 1 yrs |
| 429 | University of Wisconsin - Stout | C | $23,000 | $262 | $58,084 | 1.2 yrs |
| 430 | University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee | C | $23,000 | $262 | $54,990 | 1.5 yrs |
| 431 | Webster University | D | $23,000 | $262 | $50,876 | 2 yrs |
| 432 | Northern Kentucky University Kentucky | D | $23,000 | $262 | $50,220 | 2.2 yrs |
| 433 | Aquinas College | D | $23,000 | $262 | $49,584 | 2.3 yrs |
| 434 | McNeese State University | F | $23,000 | $262 | $46,453 | 3.3 yrs |
| 435 | University of Dallas | C | $23,117 | $263 | $58,285 | 1.2 yrs |
| 436 | Fresno Pacific University | C | $23,146 | $263 | $58,896 | 1.2 yrs |
| 437 | DePaul University | B | $23,168 | $263 | $68,751 | 0.8 yrs |
| 438 | University of Wisconsin - Whitewater | C | $23,188 | $264 | $55,356 | 1.5 yrs |
| 439 | North Dakota State University North Dakota | C | $23,199 | $264 | $62,203 | 1 yrs |
| 440 | Azusa Pacific University | B | $23,219 | $264 | $66,677 | 0.9 yrs |
| 441 | Pacific University | C | $23,223 | $264 | $60,583 | 1.1 yrs |
| 442 | University of Sioux Falls | C | $23,249 | $264 | $54,521 | 1.6 yrs |
| 443 | SUNY Maritime College | A | $23,250 | $264 | $95,951 | 0.4 yrs |
| 444 | Boston University Massachusetts | A | $23,250 | $264 | $83,238 | 0.5 yrs |
| 445 | Missouri University of Science and Technology | A | $23,250 | $264 | $82,957 | 0.5 yrs |
| 446 | The College of New Jersey | B | $23,250 | $264 | $73,323 | 0.7 yrs |
| 447 | University of Detroit Mercy | B | $23,250 | $264 | $71,030 | 0.7 yrs |
| 448 | Pace University New York | B | $23,250 | $264 | $70,378 | 0.8 yrs |
| 449 | Furman University | B | $23,250 | $264 | $68,635 | 0.8 yrs |
| 450 | Michigan State University Michigan | B | $23,250 | $264 | $67,253 | 0.8 yrs |
A university can leave students with little debt because it is genuinely affordable — strong institutional aid, low in-state tuition — or because so few of its students borrow that the median falls to a handful of cases. The earnings column beside it is what separates the two.
It counts federal loans only. Private loans, credit cards and parent borrowing sit outside the dataset, so a family that financed college another way appears here as low debt.
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.