How big is student debt compared with pay, by major?
Graduates in the 20 most common bachelor's majors borrowed about the same in federal student loans, roughly $21,000 to $25,000 at the typical college, but their pay differed widely. For teacher education graduates, that debt equaled 51% of a year's earnings four years after graduating; for computer science graduates, 21%. Debt is the median of colleges' median federal loan debt for 2018–19 and 2019–20 graduates who borrowed (private and parent loans not counted). Earnings cover only graduates who received federal aid and were working, in 2022 and 2023.
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Source and date
- Data as of
- Published
The data
| Major (bachelor's degree) | Typical federal loan debt as a percent of a year's earnings |
|---|---|
| Teacher education | 51.2 |
| Psychology | 46.1 |
| English | 45.3 |
| Social work | 44.9 |
| Kinesiology and physical education | 44.4 |
| Criminal justice | 44.3 |
| Liberal arts and general studies | 43.6 |
| Sociology | 43 |
| Biology | 40.8 |
| Communication and media studies | 40.8 |
| Business administration and management | 34.2 |
| Political science | 34 |
| Marketing | 32.5 |
| Accounting | 30.2 |
| Finance | 26 |
| Nursing | 25.8 |
| Economics | 25.1 |
| Mechanical engineering | 24.9 |
| Computer and information sciences | 24.6 |
| Computer science | 20.6 |