---
title: Amherst College — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Amherst, MA
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Amherst College

Amherst, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $77,644 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $60,184 – $153,382 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,254 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 94% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $87,640 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 81% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.15× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $49,644 | derived |

**94% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $12,000 (≈ 16% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $24,621 to $96,310 across 9 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $96,310 | $16,750 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $78,775 | $16,662 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,970 | $13,900 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,419 | not reported |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,271 | not reported |
| Research and Experimental Psychology. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,688 | $10,800 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,896 | $18,032 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,744 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,621 | not reported |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Amherst College by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?164465

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/amherst-college-ma.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`