Education Atlas

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

Is an Education, Other degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 21 colleges (21 of 21 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after
$33,472

Graduates only, early career.$33,726 two years out.

Median federal debt
$23,562

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay
0.67×

67% 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 Education, Other report early-career pay between $27,971 and $39,133 — a spread of $11,162 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $27,971 median $33,472 75th pct $39,133

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay
Bachelor's 21 colleges $33,472 $23,562 0.67×
Master's 34 colleges $48,592 $21,238 0.47×
Doctoral 6 colleges $73,250 $65,532 1.01×

Where an 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.

Towson University MD $45,632 $14,000 debt
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN $42,401 $17,021 debt
University of Nevada-Reno NV $41,882
University of Minnesota-Duluth MN $41,089 $25,250 debt
Westminster College PA $39,753 $27,000 debt
Edgewood University WI $39,133
Eastern Oregon University OR $37,367 $24,874 debt
St Petersburg College FL $35,226 $27,072 debt
Sonoma State University CA $32,292 $17,128 debt
University of Central Missouri MO $31,653 $21,500 debt
Gonzaga University WA $29,243

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Education, Other, 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