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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 151 | Fort Lewis College Colorado | F | $18,389 | $209 | $46,349 | 2.7 yrs |
| 152 | Whitman College Washington | B | $18,437 | $210 | $67,589 | 0.7 yrs |
| 153 | Dickinson State University North Dakota | C | $18,442 | $210 | $50,720 | 1.7 yrs |
| 154 | University of New Mexico New Mexico | F | $18,450 | $210 | $44,792 | 3.5 yrs |
| 155 | California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo California | A | $18,500 | $210 | $90,768 | 0.4 yrs |
| 156 | New Jersey City University New Jersey | C | $18,500 | $210 | $52,745 | 1.4 yrs |
| 157 | Bowdoin College Maine | A | $18,500 | $210 | $82,735 | 0.4 yrs |
| 158 | Lewis-Clark State College Idaho | F | $18,500 | $210 | $46,001 | 2.9 yrs |
| 159 | Montana State University - Northern Montana | D | $18,500 | $210 | $49,505 | 1.9 yrs |
| 160 | University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Wisconsin | C | $18,500 | $210 | $52,528 | 1.4 yrs |
| 161 | Western Washington University Washington | B | $18,500 | $210 | $62,569 | 0.8 yrs |
| 162 | University of Hawaii at Manoa Hawaii | C | $18,500 | $210 | $57,624 | 1 yrs |
| 163 | Kenyon College Ohio | A | $18,527 | $211 | $71,830 | 0.6 yrs |
| 164 | Governors State University Illinois | C | $18,618 | $212 | $58,169 | 1 yrs |
| 165 | Vassar College New York | A | $18,625 | $212 | $71,366 | 0.6 yrs |
| 166 | Davidson College North Carolina | A | $18,688 | $212 | $81,400 | 0.5 yrs |
| 167 | Towson University Maryland | B | $18,718 | $213 | $64,390 | 0.8 yrs |
| 168 | University of Missouri-Kansas City Missouri | B | $18,750 | $213 | $59,637 | 0.9 yrs |
| 169 | University of New Orleans Louisiana | D | $18,750 | $213 | $47,872 | 2.2 yrs |
| 170 | University of Houston-Downtown Texas | C | $18,750 | $213 | $53,551 | 1.3 yrs |
| 171 | Southern Arkansas University Arkansas | F | $18,750 | $213 | $42,386 | 6.5 yrs |
| 172 | Allen College Iowa | B | $18,750 | $213 | $71,261 | 0.6 yrs |
| 173 | State University of New York at New Paltz New York | C | $18,750 | $213 | $58,073 | 1 yrs |
| 174 | Georgia Southwestern State University Georgia | D | $18,851 | $214 | $48,757 | 2 yrs |
| 175 | Chadron State College Nebraska | D | $18,875 | $215 | $47,002 | 2.5 yrs |
| 176 | Goldey-Beacom College Delaware | B | $18,900 | $215 | $59,892 | 0.9 yrs |
| 177 | University of Nevada, Reno Nevada | B | $18,922 | $215 | $60,614 | 0.9 yrs |
| 178 | Pittsburg State University Kansas | D | $18,969 | $216 | $50,579 | 1.7 yrs |
| 179 | University of Minnesota - Morris Minnesota | C | $18,995 | $216 | $50,919 | 1.7 yrs |
| 180 | Dickinson College Pennsylvania | B | $19,000 | $216 | $70,204 | 0.6 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.