Ranked

810 US colleges ranked by student debt, lowest first

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.

#UniversityGradeYou borrowMonthlyYou earnDebt clears in
241 Georgia Gwinnett College Georgia D $20,076 $228 $47,730 2.5 yrs
242 James Madison University Virginia B $20,093 $228 $69,954 0.7 yrs
243 University of Southern Indiana Indiana D $20,105 $229 $47,605 2.5 yrs
244 University of Oregon Oregon B $20,139 $229 $61,324 0.9 yrs
245 University of Maine at Fort Kent Maine D $20,160 $229 $51,077 1.7 yrs
246 University of Alaska - Anchorage Alaska C $20,210 $230 $51,871 1.6 yrs
247 Appalachian State University North Carolina C $20,231 $230 $51,836 1.6 yrs
248 Capitol Technology University Maryland A $20,264 $230 $85,035 0.5 yrs
249 University of Alaska - Fairbanks Alaska D $20,291 $231 $48,866 2.2 yrs
250 Aurora University Illinois C $20,318 $231 $58,709 1.1 yrs
251 University of Central Arkansas Arkansas F $20,346 $231 $45,938 3.2 yrs
252 Valley City State University North Dakota C $20,369 $232 $52,725 1.5 yrs
253 Delta State University Mississippi F $20,390 $232 $41,991 8.3 yrs
254 George Washington University District of Columbia A $20,449 $233 $90,873 0.4 yrs
255 University of Northern Colorado Colorado C $20,470 $233 $52,231 1.6 yrs
256 Illinois State University Illinois B $20,482 $233 $62,117 0.9 yrs
257 University of Wisconsin–Madison Wisconsin B $20,484 $233 $73,792 0.6 yrs
258 University of Wisconsin–Parkside Wisconsin D $20,492 $233 $51,129 1.8 yrs
259 Augusta University Georgia D $20,500 $233 $48,472 2.3 yrs
260 Taylor University Indiana C $20,500 $233 $52,198 1.6 yrs
261 University of Mary Washington Virginia C $20,500 $233 $60,613 1 yrs
262 University of Hawaii at Hilo Hawaii D $20,500 $233 $47,856 2.5 yrs
263 University of Tennessee, Knoxville Tennessee C $20,500 $233 $60,249 1 yrs
264 Murray State University Kentucky F $20,500 $233 $44,737 3.9 yrs
265 Boise State University Idaho D $20,500 $233 $51,658 1.7 yrs
266 Wichita State University Kansas D $20,500 $233 $51,532 1.7 yrs
267 Rhode Island College Rhode Island C $20,500 $233 $56,318 1.2 yrs
268 University of North Carolina at Asheville North Carolina F $20,500 $233 $44,030 4.6 yrs
269 Arkansas State University Arkansas F $20,500 $233 $42,617 6.6 yrs
270 Oklahoma State University Oklahoma C $20,500 $233 $57,413 1.2 yrs

Low debt has two very different causes

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.

What the debt figure leaves out

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.

Questions

Which US university tops this list?
Georgia Gwinnett College — $47,730 median earnings against $20,076 of debt, clearing in about 2.5 years.
How much do US students typically borrow?
Across the 810 universities we grade, median debt at graduation is $22,500 — about $256 a month on the standard ten-year federal plan.
Can scholarships change these numbers?
Directly. Every award comes off the borrowing before you ever repay it, which shortens the payback on each university page. Each page lists the scholarships we hold for that institution.
All payback rankings Fastest payback Highest earnings Scholarships that cut the debt How we calculate this

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.