College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is an Accounting and Related Services degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 704 colleges (704 of 704 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$47,354

Graduates only, early career.$47,260 two years out.

Median federal debt

$22,824

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.47×

48% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is well under a single year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Accounting and Related Services report early-career pay between $42,226 and $52,419 — a spread of $10,193 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $42,226 median $47,354 75th pct $52,419

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Certificate 24 colleges $23,099 $8,507 0.44×

Associate's 138 colleges $32,120 $16,902 0.52×

Bachelor's 704 colleges $47,354 $22,824 0.47×

Master's 354 colleges $59,360 $24,260 0.41×

Grad cert. 18 colleges $58,051 $42,015 0.72×

Post-baccalaureate Certificate 3 colleges $49,669 — —

Where an Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Georgetown University DC $77,441 $17,500 debt

Lehigh University PA $71,520 $23,179 debt

Boston College MA $69,899 $18,000 debt

Villanova University PA $69,420 $25,858 debt

Fordham University NY $68,968 $23,000 debt

Texas Christian University TX $68,776 $17,778 debt

Bucknell University PA $68,290 $26,881 debt

Santa Clara University CA $67,828 $18,625 debt

College of the Holy Cross MA $67,670 $27,000 debt

University of Notre Dame IN $66,502 $19,000 debt

Loyola Marymount University CA $66,189 $14,750 debt

University of Connecticut CT $65,893 $21,500 debt

University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus CT $65,893 $21,500 debt

University of Connecticut-Avery Point CT $65,893 $21,500 debt

University of Connecticut-Stamford CT $65,893 $21,500 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Accounting and Related Services, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard