---
title: Is a Real Estate degree worth the debt?
cip: 5215
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 Real Estate degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **21** colleges (21 of 21 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $51,372 ($52,524 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $19,699 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.38× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $43,823–$58,970 — 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 | $35,794 | $7,394 | 0.22× | 4 | 4/4 |
| Bachelor's | $51,372 | $19,699 | 0.38× | 21 | 21/21 |
| Master's | $91,240 | $42,050 | 0.55× | 12 | 12/12 |

## 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 Southern California (CA) | $75,665 | $19,500 |
| Villanova University (PA) | $70,782 | $27,000 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI) | $69,730 | $20,138 |
| New York University (NY) | $60,021 | $20,500 |
| Texas Christian University (TX) | $59,869 | $25,000 |
| University of San Diego (CA) | $58,970 | $19,699 |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus (OH) | $55,093 | $17,323 |
| Syracuse University (NY) | $53,802 | — |
| University of Denver (CO) | $53,339 | — |
| University of Georgia (GA) | $52,848 | $19,250 |
| University of Northern Iowa (IA) | $51,372 | $20,500 |
| Baylor University (TX) | $51,139 | $20,500 |
| University of Wisconsin-Stout (WI) | $48,783 | $17,493 |
| Florida State University (FL) | $46,748 | $19,500 |
| University of Central Florida (FL) | $46,392 | $17,750 |

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/real-estate.jsonld` · `/education/fields/real-estate.json`