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

Is an Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 56 colleges (56 of 56 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$39,594

Graduates only, early career.$38,289 two years out.

Median federal debt

$21,998

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.56×

56% 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 Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations report early-career pay between $33,248 and $44,436 — a spread of $11,188 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $33,248 median $39,594 75th pct $44,436

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Associate's 3 colleges $32,607 — —

Bachelor's 56 colleges $39,594 $21,998 0.56×

Master's 7 colleges $56,947 $49,712 0.86×

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.

Boston College MA $71,395 $19,000 debt

Brown University RI $66,171 $18,000 debt

University of Houston TX $59,493 $10,875 debt

Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus PA $59,349 $25,000 debt

University of Arizona AZ $58,147 $24,425 debt

San Jose State University CA $55,130 —

University of Delaware DE $54,936 —

University of Dayton OH $52,813 $25,492 debt

Brigham Young University UT $51,830 —

American Public University System WV $47,334 —

University of Miami FL $47,164 —

Syracuse University NY $46,454 $26,350 debt

Suffolk University MA $45,041 $27,000 debt

Baylor University TX $44,803 $19,012 debt

University of St Thomas MN $44,313 $21,500 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations, 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