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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | Wellesley College Massachusetts | A | $10,000 | $114 | $84,803 | 0.2 yrs |
| 62 | Dominican University of California California | B | $27,000 | $307 | $84,713 | 0.6 yrs |
| 63 | Drexel University Pennsylvania | A | $25,325 | $288 | $84,648 | 0.6 yrs |
| 64 | New Jersey Institute of Technology New Jersey | A | $21,000 | $239 | $84,276 | 0.5 yrs |
| 65 | Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York | A | $15,000 | $171 | $83,847 | 0.3 yrs |
| 66 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Michigan | A | $19,500 | $222 | $83,648 | 0.4 yrs |
| 67 | Boston University Massachusetts | A | $23,250 | $264 | $83,238 | 0.5 yrs |
| 68 | Tufts University Massachusetts | A | $16,250 | $185 | $83,214 | 0.4 yrs |
| 69 | Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri | A | $23,250 | $264 | $82,957 | 0.5 yrs |
| 70 | Pepperdine University California | A | $23,510 | $267 | $82,939 | 0.5 yrs |
| 71 | University of Maryland, College Park Maryland | A | $19,000 | $216 | $82,860 | 0.4 yrs |
| 72 | University of Portland Oregon | A | $21,370 | $243 | $82,804 | 0.5 yrs |
| 73 | Bowdoin College Maine | A | $18,500 | $210 | $82,735 | 0.4 yrs |
| 74 | Wentworth Institute of Technology Massachusetts | A | $25,028 | $285 | $82,721 | 0.6 yrs |
| 75 | Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois | A | $25,000 | $284 | $82,592 | 0.6 yrs |
| 76 | University of California, Los Angeles California | A | $14,000 | $159 | $82,511 | 0.3 yrs |
| 77 | New York University New York | A | $20,500 | $233 | $82,509 | 0.5 yrs |
| 78 | Denver College of Nursing Colorado | B | $26,500 | $301 | $81,809 | 0.6 yrs |
| 79 | Davidson College North Carolina | A | $18,688 | $212 | $81,400 | 0.5 yrs |
| 80 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Illinois | A | $19,500 | $222 | $81,054 | 0.5 yrs |
| 81 | Ohio Northern University Ohio | B | $27,000 | $307 | $80,928 | 0.7 yrs |
| 82 | University of California Davis California | A | $13,000 | $148 | $80,838 | 0.3 yrs |
| 83 | University of California, Irvine California | A | $15,000 | $171 | $80,735 | 0.4 yrs |
| 84 | Barnard College New York | A | $18,000 | $205 | $80,516 | 0.4 yrs |
| 85 | Colby College Maine | A | $19,157 | $218 | $80,490 | 0.5 yrs |
| 86 | Swarthmore College Pennsylvania | A | $17,500 | $199 | $80,257 | 0.4 yrs |
| 87 | Emory University Georgia | A | $18,250 | $208 | $80,137 | 0.5 yrs |
| 88 | DigiPen Institute of Technology Washington | B | $27,000 | $307 | $79,878 | 0.7 yrs |
| 89 | Syracuse University New York | B | $26,000 | $296 | $79,164 | 0.7 yrs |
| 90 | University of Rochester New York | A | $21,000 | $239 | $79,042 | 0.5 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.