---
title: Is an Economics degree worth the debt?
cip: 4506
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 an Economics degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **363** colleges (363 of 363 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $45,884 ($47,260 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $20,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.45× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $39,751–$53,271 — 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 | $45,884 | $20,500 | 0.45× | 363 | 363/363 |
| Master's | $63,388 | $39,630 | 0.67× | 19 | 19/19 |

## Where an 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Claremont McKenna College (CA) | $95,566 | $12,000 |
| Duke University (NC) | $94,699 | $13,187 |
| Harvard University (MA) | $89,515 | $6,617 |
| Rice University (TX) | $87,989 | $11,644 |
| Yale University (CT) | $87,166 | $12,562 |
| Dartmouth College (NH) | $85,069 | $18,132 |
| Williams College (MA) | $83,280 | $12,925 |
| University of Chicago (IL) | $82,564 | $13,395 |
| Princeton University (NJ) | $81,961 | $11,250 |
| Amherst College (MA) | $78,775 | $16,662 |
| Carnegie Mellon University (PA) | $78,188 | $22,020 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York (NY) | $73,902 | $25,000 |
| Vanderbilt University (TN) | $72,741 | $12,000 |
| University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $72,198 | $14,621 |
| Colgate University (NY) | $72,196 | $17,500 |

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/economics.jsonld` · `/education/fields/economics.json`