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 $57,146 against $22,500 of debt.
| # | University | Grade | You borrow | Monthly | You earn | Debt clears in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 691 | Georgia State University Georgia | D | $20,903 | $238 | $47,384 | 2.7 yrs |
| 692 | Indiana Institute of Technology Indiana | F | $26,391 | $300 | $47,327 | 3.4 yrs |
| 693 | Coastal Carolina University South Carolina | F | $23,750 | $270 | $47,258 | 3.1 yrs |
| 694 | Young Harris College Georgia | F | $27,000 | $307 | $47,195 | 3.5 yrs |
| 695 | Winthrop University South Carolina | F | $26,975 | $307 | $47,185 | 3.5 yrs |
| 696 | Northern Michigan University Michigan | F | $21,474 | $244 | $47,107 | 2.8 yrs |
| 697 | Peru State College Nebraska | F | $21,875 | $249 | $47,071 | 2.9 yrs |
| 698 | Chadron State College Nebraska | D | $18,875 | $215 | $47,002 | 2.5 yrs |
| 699 | Hampshire College Massachusetts | F | $26,893 | $306 | $46,938 | 3.6 yrs |
| 700 | Oral Roberts University Oklahoma | F | $27,000 | $307 | $46,885 | 3.7 yrs |
| 701 | Fairmont State University West Virginia | F | $21,000 | $239 | $46,857 | 2.9 yrs |
| 702 | University of Louisiana at Monroe Louisiana | F | $21,500 | $244 | $46,769 | 3 yrs |
| 703 | Columbia Basin College Washington | D | $14,829 | $169 | $46,680 | 2.1 yrs |
| 704 | Black Hills State University South Dakota | F | $26,000 | $296 | $46,674 | 3.6 yrs |
| 705 | Huntington University Indiana | F | $25,576 | $291 | $46,672 | 3.6 yrs |
| 706 | University of Akron Ohio | F | $23,250 | $264 | $46,600 | 3.3 yrs |
| 707 | Bard College New York | F | $24,254 | $276 | $46,543 | 3.5 yrs |
| 708 | Coppin State University Maryland | F | $25,000 | $284 | $46,490 | 3.6 yrs |
| 709 | Southeastern Louisiana University Louisiana | F | $22,113 | $251 | $46,482 | 3.2 yrs |
| 710 | McNeese State University Louisiana | F | $23,000 | $262 | $46,453 | 3.3 yrs |
| 711 | Frederick Community College Maryland | C | $8,150 | $93 | $46,449 | 1.2 yrs |
| 712 | Lake Superior College Minnesota | D | $12,775 | $145 | $46,449 | 1.8 yrs |
| 713 | Belhaven University Mississippi | F | $26,333 | $299 | $46,440 | 3.8 yrs |
| 714 | Marshall University West Virginia | F | $23,250 | $264 | $46,354 | 3.4 yrs |
| 715 | Fort Lewis College Colorado | F | $18,389 | $209 | $46,349 | 2.7 yrs |
| 716 | Anne Arundel Community College Maryland | C | $8,250 | $94 | $46,219 | 1.2 yrs |
| 717 | Mississippi University for Women Mississippi | D | $15,000 | $171 | $46,128 | 2.3 yrs |
| 718 | Lewis-Clark State College Idaho | F | $18,500 | $210 | $46,001 | 2.9 yrs |
| 719 | University of Central Arkansas Arkansas | F | $20,346 | $231 | $45,938 | 3.2 yrs |
| 720 | New Mexico Highlands University New Mexico | D | $11,399 | $130 | $45,937 | 1.8 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.