---
title: Is a Construction Management degree worth the debt?
cip: 5220
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 Management degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **50** colleges (50 of 50 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $65,332 ($64,837 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.35× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $61,542–$68,592 — 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 | $53,294 | $19,130 | 0.32× | 4 | 4/4 |
| Bachelor's | $65,332 | $22,500 | 0.35× | 50 | 50/50 |
| Master's | $81,837 | $36,584 | 0.51× | 6 | 6/6 |

## 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 Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (CA) | $83,616 | $18,500 |
| University of Alaska Anchorage (AK) | $80,711 | — |
| California State University-East Bay (CA) | $80,056 | — |
| California State University-Chico (CA) | $78,190 | $19,341 |
| Central Washington University (WA) | $73,538 | $24,120 |
| Wentworth Institute of Technology (MA) | $72,808 | $27,000 |
| Washington State University (WA) | $72,092 | — |
| Milwaukee School of Engineering (WI) | $72,024 | — |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion (AZ) | $70,195 | — |
| Drexel University (PA) | $69,427 | $31,000 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA) | $69,047 | $27,000 |
| SUNY College of Technology at Delhi (NY) | $68,951 | $24,610 |
| Boise State University (ID) | $68,628 | $23,250 |
| Weber State University (UT) | $68,485 | $15,928 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (MN) | $68,050 | $19,500 |

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