---
title: Is a Business/Managerial Economics degree worth the debt?
cip: 5206
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/Managerial Economics degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **83** colleges (83 of 83 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $45,936 ($48,236 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $21,000 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.45× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $40,496–$50,958 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $45,936 | $21,000 | 0.45× | 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Washington University in St Louis (MO) | $88,712 | — |
| Villanova University (PA) | $70,687 | $27,000 |
| University of California-Los Angeles (CA) | $65,881 | $17,332 |
| Brigham Young University (UT) | $63,484 | — |
| Lehigh University (PA) | $61,418 | $23,240 |
| University of Miami (FL) | $60,274 | $14,700 |
| Miami University-Oxford (OH) | $58,704 | $24,000 |
| Bentley University (MA) | $58,138 | $26,000 |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus (OH) | $56,544 | $19,500 |
| DePaul University (IL) | $56,409 | $20,670 |
| The University of Arizona Global Campus (AZ) | $55,719 | $38,365 |
| Chapman University (CA) | $55,212 | $22,977 |
| Marquette University (WI) | $54,582 | $23,000 |
| University of Dayton (OH) | $54,059 | $22,698 |
| West Chester University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $53,396 | — |

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-managerial-economics.jsonld` · `/education/fields/business-managerial-economics.json`