---
title: Is a Business/Commerce, General degree worth the debt?
cip: 5201
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

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

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **270** colleges (270 of 270 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $42,524 ($42,821 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,837 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.59× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $38,925–$47,245 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Associate's | $30,860 | $17,701 | 0.44× | 145 | 145/145 |
| Bachelor's | $42,524 | $23,837 | 0.59× | 270 | 270/270 |
| Master's | $70,803 | $34,250 | 0.48× | 83 | 83/83 |

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

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| New York University (NY) | $77,787 | $19,500 |
| 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 |
| Northeastern University Oakland (CA) | $65,358 | $22,500 |
| Northeastern University (MA) | $65,358 | $22,500 |
| University of Notre Dame (IN) | $64,167 | — |
| Texas A&M University-College Station (TX) | $63,915 | — |
| University of Redlands (CA) | $63,683 | $37,162 |
| Indiana University-Bloomington (IN) | $63,371 | $19,500 |
| Lehigh University (PA) | $63,311 | — |
| Brandeis University (MA) | $62,010 | $26,000 |
| Texas Tech University (TX) | $61,842 | — |
| University of Georgia (GA) | $61,103 | $23,966 |
| Pace University (NY) | $60,927 | — |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/business-commerce-general.jsonld` · `/education/fields/business-commerce-general.json`