---
title: Wake Forest University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Winston-Salem, NC
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC · 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 | $78,158 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $53,216 – $126,384 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $19,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,250 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 89% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $87,499 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 88% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.25× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $50,158 | derived |

**89% 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 $19,500 (≈ 25% 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 $24,425 to $169,430 across 26 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $169,430 | $103,942 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Master's Degree | $96,143 | $128,561 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $86,086 | $61,051 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Master's Degree | $77,362 | $50,885 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $73,169 | $19,500 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,098 | $20,549 |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,533 | $18,899 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $61,076 | $43,000 |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $58,731 | $105,023 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,100 | $20,500 |
| Medicine. | First Professional Degree | $56,086 | $193,205 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,727 | $22,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Master's Degree | $48,091 | not reported |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,075 | $22,250 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,018 | $19,500 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $40,913 | $76,591 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,486 | $20,963 |
| Statistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,169 | not reported |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,812 | $23,000 |
| Biology, General. | Master's Degree | $39,388 | $57,666 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,985 | $22,250 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,991 | not reported |
| Theological and Ministerial Studies. | Master's Degree | $33,944 | $59,016 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,694 | $21,393 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,506 | $21,079 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,425 | $22,777 |

## 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 Wake Forest University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?199847

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/wake-forest-university-nc.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`