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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 211 | Emporia State University | D | $19,500 | $222 | $47,601 | 2.4 yrs |
| 212 | Lipscomb University | C | $19,500 | $222 | $55,541 | 1.2 yrs |
| 213 | Samford University | C | $19,500 | $222 | $58,469 | 1 yrs |
| 214 | University of Nebraska Kearney Nebraska | D | $19,500 | $222 | $50,105 | 1.8 yrs |
| 215 | Lewis & Clark College | B | $19,500 | $222 | $62,205 | 0.9 yrs |
| 216 | Central Washington University Washington | B | $19,500 | $222 | $61,580 | 0.9 yrs |
| 217 | Indiana University Bloomington Indiana | B | $19,509 | $222 | $63,742 | 0.8 yrs |
| 218 | Tarleton State University Texas | C | $19,606 | $223 | $53,040 | 1.5 yrs |
| 219 | Minot State University | C | $19,609 | $223 | $51,759 | 1.6 yrs |
| 220 | University of Arizona Arizona | B | $19,620 | $223 | $59,979 | 1 yrs |
| 221 | Indiana University Southeast | D | $19,684 | $224 | $47,596 | 2.4 yrs |
| 222 | University of Northern Iowa | C | $19,691 | $224 | $55,177 | 1.3 yrs |
| 223 | National-Louis University | F | $19,750 | $225 | $45,799 | 3.2 yrs |
| 224 | Bemidji State University | C | $19,750 | $225 | $53,755 | 1.4 yrs |
| 225 | Seattle University Washington | A | $19,883 | $226 | $75,272 | 0.6 yrs |
| 226 | Ohio State University Ohio | B | $19,976 | $227 | $60,409 | 1 yrs |
| 227 | Babson College | A | $20,000 | $227 | $123,938 | 0.2 yrs |
| 228 | ECPI University | F | $20,000 | $227 | $42,837 | 6 yrs |
| 229 | Middle Tennessee State University | D | $20,000 | $227 | $48,541 | 2.2 yrs |
| 230 | Bellevue University | B | $20,000 | $227 | $61,289 | 0.9 yrs |
| 231 | Minnesota State University Moorhead | D | $20,000 | $227 | $50,527 | 1.8 yrs |
| 232 | Wilmington University | C | $20,000 | $227 | $53,844 | 1.4 yrs |
| 233 | University of Mississippi Medical Center | D | $20,000 | $227 | $50,994 | 1.7 yrs |
| 234 | University of Colorado at Colorado Springs | C | $20,000 | $227 | $54,659 | 1.3 yrs |
| 235 | University of Mississippi Mississippi | D | $20,000 | $227 | $50,994 | 1.7 yrs |
| 236 | Angelo State University | D | $20,000 | $227 | $50,116 | 1.9 yrs |
| 237 | Idaho State University Idaho | F | $20,039 | $228 | $45,608 | 3.3 yrs |
| 238 | Georgia Gwinnett College | D | $20,076 | $228 | $47,730 | 2.5 yrs |
| 239 | James Madison University | B | $20,093 | $228 | $69,954 | 0.7 yrs |
| 240 | University of Southern Indiana Indiana | D | $20,105 | $229 | $47,605 | 2.5 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.