---
title: Is a Construction Engineering degree worth the debt?
cip: 1433
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 Construction Engineering degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **11** colleges (11 of 11 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $71,580 ($70,083 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $24,758 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.35× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $68,043–$74,208 — 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 | $71,580 | $24,758 | 0.35× | 11 | 11/11 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| California State University-Sacramento (CA) | $81,148 | $14,514 |
| National University (CA) | $79,856 | — |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion (AZ) | $74,873 | — |
| Oregon State University (OR) | $73,542 | $25,000 |
| Oregon State University-Cascades Campus (OR) | $73,542 | $25,000 |
| Iowa State University (IA) | $71,580 | $19,609 |
| Texas Tech University (TX) | $68,843 | $24,446 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA) | $68,755 | $26,349 |
| Bradley University (IL) | $67,331 | — |
| University of Cincinnati-Main Campus (OH) | $66,036 | $24,515 |
| Bowling Green State University-Main Campus (OH) | $63,158 | $26,000 |

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/construction-engineering.jsonld` · `/education/fields/construction-engineering.json`