---
title: Is a Statistics degree worth the debt?
cip: 2705
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 Statistics degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **46** colleges (46 of 46 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $48,680 ($49,962 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $19,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.39× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $46,550–$59,342 — 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 | $48,680 | $19,500 | 0.39× | 46 | 46/46 |
| Master's | $85,100 | $37,796 | 0.36× | 18 | 18/18 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Carnegie Mellon University (PA) | $89,636 | $21,000 |
| Cornell University (NY) | $83,338 | — |
| Harvard University (MA) | $78,193 | — |
| University of California-Berkeley (CA) | $70,227 | $15,400 |
| Purdue University-Main Campus (IN) | $68,741 | $19,250 |
| Gustavus Adolphus College (MN) | $66,124 | — |
| Emory University (GA) | $66,121 | $20,983 |
| Williams College (MA) | $65,849 | — |
| University of Miami (FL) | $65,603 | — |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (IL) | $63,699 | $19,000 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (MI) | $60,804 | $23,150 |
| Northwestern University (IL) | $59,892 | $14,234 |
| Brigham Young University (UT) | $57,692 | $10,312 |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus (VA) | $57,205 | $16,295 |
| University of California-Los Angeles (CA) | $56,134 | $15,811 |

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