Education Atlas

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

Is a Computer Systems Analysis degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 29 colleges (29 of 29 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after
$47,609

Graduates only, early career.$52,242 two years out.

Median federal debt
$40,509

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay
0.85×

85% 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 Computer Systems Analysis report early-career pay between $47,609 and $57,393 — a spread of $9,784 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $47,609 median $47,609 75th pct $57,393

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay
Bachelor's 29 colleges $47,609 $40,509 0.85×
Master's 6 colleges $77,652 $29,878 0.42×

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.

Texas Christian University TX $78,343 $20,750 debt
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN $70,084 $20,041 debt
Lindenwood University MO $61,260
University of Phoenix-California $59,874
University of Houston TX $55,675 $24,154 debt
Kent State University at Kent OH $52,914 $23,625 debt
DeVry College of New York NY $47,609 $40,509 debt
DeVry University-Arizona AZ $47,609 $40,509 debt
DeVry University-California CA $47,609 $40,509 debt
DeVry University-Colorado $47,609 $40,509 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Computer Systems Analysis, 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