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

Is a Business/Commerce, General degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 270 colleges (270 of 270 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$42,524

Graduates only, early career.$42,821 two years out.

Median federal debt

$23,837

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.59×

59% of a first year's earnings.

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

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Business/Commerce, General report early-career pay between $38,925 and $47,245 — a spread of $8,320 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $38,925 median $42,524 75th pct $47,245

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Associate's 145 colleges $30,860 $17,701 0.44×

Bachelor's 270 colleges $42,524 $23,837 0.59×

Master's 83 colleges $70,803 $34,250 0.48×

Where a 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.

New York University NY $77,787 $19,500 debt

University of Virginia-Main Campus VA $76,602 —

The University of Texas at Austin TX $69,337 —

Wake Forest University NC $65,533 $18,899 debt

Northeastern University Oakland CA $65,358 $22,500 debt

Northeastern University MA $65,358 $22,500 debt

University of Notre Dame IN $64,167 —

Texas A&M University-College Station TX $63,915 —

University of Redlands CA $63,683 $37,162 debt

Indiana University-Bloomington IN $63,371 $19,500 debt

Lehigh University PA $63,311 —

Brandeis University MA $62,010 $26,000 debt

Texas Tech University TX $61,842 —

University of Georgia GA $61,103 $23,966 debt

Pace University NY $60,927 —

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Business/Commerce, General, 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