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 $57,146 against $22,500 of debt.
| # | University | Grade | You borrow | Monthly | You earn | Debt clears in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | Harvard University Massachusetts | A | $14,000 | $159 | $101,817 | 0.2 yrs |
| 62 | Vanderbilt University Tennessee | A | $14,000 | $159 | $91,565 | 0.3 yrs |
| 63 | Madison Area Technical College Wisconsin | D | $14,060 | $160 | $45,413 | 2.4 yrs |
| 64 | Bates College Maine | A | $14,275 | $162 | $69,498 | 0.5 yrs |
| 65 | California State University, Long Beach California | A | $14,289 | $162 | $64,403 | 0.6 yrs |
| 66 | Utah State University Utah | C | $14,340 | $163 | $54,022 | 1 yrs |
| 67 | California State University, Fresno California | B | $14,505 | $165 | $61,244 | 0.7 yrs |
| 68 | California State University, San Bernardino California | B | $14,715 | $167 | $59,977 | 0.7 yrs |
| 69 | Thomas Jefferson University Pennsylvania | A | $14,744 | $168 | $77,449 | 0.4 yrs |
| 70 | Utah Valley University Utah | B | $14,750 | $168 | $55,486 | 0.9 yrs |
| 71 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts | A | $14,768 | $168 | $143,372 | 0.1 yrs |
| 72 | Columbia Basin College Washington | D | $14,829 | $169 | $46,680 | 2.1 yrs |
| 73 | Capella University Minnesota | F | $14,968 | $170 | $42,189 | 5.6 yrs |
| 74 | Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York | A | $15,000 | $171 | $83,847 | 0.3 yrs |
| 75 | California State University Channel Islands California | B | $15,000 | $171 | $62,152 | 0.7 yrs |
| 76 | University of Chicago Illinois | A | $15,000 | $171 | $91,885 | 0.3 yrs |
| 77 | Northwestern University Illinois | A | $15,000 | $171 | $89,363 | 0.3 yrs |
| 78 | University of Maryland, Baltimore Maryland | A | $15,000 | $171 | $88,174 | 0.3 yrs |
| 79 | Colgate University New York | A | $15,000 | $171 | $85,139 | 0.3 yrs |
| 80 | Mississippi University for Women Mississippi | D | $15,000 | $171 | $46,128 | 2.3 yrs |
| 81 | San Diego State University California | B | $15,000 | $171 | $64,909 | 0.6 yrs |
| 82 | University of Florida Florida | A | $15,000 | $171 | $71,588 | 0.5 yrs |
| 83 | California State University, Sacramento California | B | $15,000 | $171 | $64,876 | 0.6 yrs |
| 84 | University of California, Irvine California | A | $15,000 | $171 | $80,735 | 0.4 yrs |
| 85 | San Jose State University California | A | $15,000 | $171 | $78,988 | 0.4 yrs |
| 86 | Weber State University Utah | B | $15,113 | $172 | $56,287 | 0.9 yrs |
| 87 | San Francisco State University California | A | $15,371 | $175 | $68,077 | 0.5 yrs |
| 88 | University of California, San Diego California | A | $15,500 | $176 | $84,943 | 0.3 yrs |
| 89 | Georgetown University District of Columbia | A | $15,500 | $176 | $103,494 | 0.2 yrs |
| 90 | University of North Florida Florida | B | $15,531 | $177 | $56,343 | 0.9 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.