---
title: Luther College — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Decorah, IA
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Luther College

Decorah, IA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $59,850 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $42,196 – $82,716 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $22,200 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $6,557 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 71% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $65,461 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 81% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.37× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $31,850 | derived |

**71% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $22,200 (≈ 37% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $17,550 to $66,195 across 19 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,195 | $27,000 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,140 | $27,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,758 | $27,000 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,545 | $27,000 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,532 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,489 | $27,000 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,723 | $27,000 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,831 | $27,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,709 | $27,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,828 | $25,823 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,592 | $27,000 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,691 | not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,564 | $27,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,391 | $26,391 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,388 | $27,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,131 | not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,915 | not reported |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,944 | not reported |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $17,550 | $27,000 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Luther College by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?153834

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/luther-college-ia.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`