---
title: Is a Marketing degree worth the debt?
cip: 5214
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 Marketing degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **492** colleges (492 of 492 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $41,580 ($42,363 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.53× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $37,883–$45,496 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Certificate | $40,811 | $12,063 | 0.30× | 5 | 5/5 |
| Associate's | $31,044 | $16,501 | 0.50× | 21 | 21/21 |
| Bachelor's | $41,580 | $22,500 | 0.53× | 492 | 492/492 |
| Master's | $55,820 | $37,570 | 0.79× | 44 | 44/44 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $69,836 | $17,412 |
| Georgetown University (DC) | $69,082 | $17,000 |
| Washington University in St Louis (MO) | $61,582 | $17,500 |
| Santa Clara University (CA) | $60,745 | $19,712 |
| Boston College (MA) | $58,593 | $18,000 |
| Purdue University-Main Campus (IN) | $58,334 | $18,274 |
| Michigan State University (MI) | $58,064 | $22,250 |
| The University of Texas at Austin (TX) | $57,075 | $19,625 |
| Texas Christian University (TX) | $56,711 | $19,500 |
| Brigham Young University (UT) | $56,416 | $11,000 |
| Villanova University (PA) | $56,041 | $26,747 |
| Lehigh University (PA) | $56,022 | $20,534 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (MN) | $55,784 | $22,136 |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (IL) | $55,615 | $20,000 |
| San Jose State University (CA) | $54,841 | — |

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