Outcomes
Same Degree, Different Paycheck: what 32,468 college programs pay and what their graduates owe
Federal data on 32,468 college programs with an earnings figure. An associate degree in nursing pays within 10% of the typical bachelor's program in 37 of 43 states, the college matters far more for some majors than for others, and for-profit graduates of the same program usually owe more.
Data period: College Scorecard field of study, June 2026 release: earnings four years after completing for 2017-18 and 2018-19 graduates (measured 2022-23, 2024 dollars); debt and first-year earnings for 2018-19 and 2019-20 graduates.
By CampusPin Research · Published September 27, 2026
Executive summary
Knowing a student's major tells you less about their pay than the major's name suggests. Across the 32,468 college programs with a federal earnings figure (institution, field and credential, each with at least 30 graduates measured), the credential, the college and the sector each move what graduates earn and owe.
Nursing is the clearest case. In 37 of the 43 states with enough programs to compare, the typical associate-degree nursing program (ADN) pays its graduates at least 90% of what the state's typical bachelor's program (BSN) pays four years out. The typical ADN graduate left with $14,971 in federal loans, against $22,442 for the typical BSN graduate.
For some majors the college matters far more than for others. Among computer science bachelor's programs, the top tenth pays at least $75,188 more than the bottom tenth; in mechanical engineering that gap is $15,730. And when the same program is offered by both public and for-profit colleges in one state, for-profit graduates owe more in 125 of 160 comparisons (78%) but earn more in only 69 of 146. These are associations in federal data, not estimates of what any college causes.
Key findings
- Associate vs bachelor's nursing: the typical ADN program pays $79,607 four years after graduating and the typical BSN program $84,700 (788 and 780 programs). Scorecard's national medians across all graduates are $80,813 and $88,910.
- In 37 of 43 states the typical ADN program pays at least 90% of the typical BSN program. Idaho is the only state where it pays as much or more. The 6 below 90% are Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Virginia, West Virginia.
- Median federal debt: $14,971 for the typical ADN program against $22,442 for the typical BSN program, about $159 against $238 a month on a standard 10-year plan.
- Where the college matters most: across the 87 field-and-credential groups with at least 100 programs, the gap between the top-tenth and bottom-tenth program is widest for computer science bachelor's ($75,188), law degrees ($75,028) and the MBA ($69,014), and narrowest in engineering and teaching (mechanical engineering $15,730, teacher education $15,349).
- Within one state: the highest- and lowest-paying business bachelor's programs are at least $20,000 apart in 41 of 44 states and territories with five or more programs. For teacher-education bachelor's programs that is true in 3 of 37.
- Same program, same credential, same state, different sector (each comparison matched on state, 4-digit federal field and credential level): for-profit graduates' median federal debt is higher than public graduates' in 125 of 160 comparisons (78%); their median earnings are higher in 69 of 146 (47%). Nationally, the typical for-profit associate nursing program's median federal debt was $25,134, against $13,806 at the typical public program. Nursing is the exception on pay: for-profit nursing graduates earned more in 21 of 27 state comparisons.
- Master's debt against first-year pay: at 24.2% of private nonprofit master's programs (621 of 2,569) the median federal debt was larger than graduates' median earnings in their first year after graduating, against 5.8% at public universities (170 of 2,922). Both figures describe the same graduating classes.
- One year after the same program at the same college, men had higher median earnings than women in 4,651 of 7,070 programs (66%), and in 328 of 352 nursing programs. In the typical program women earned 95 cents for each dollar men earned. This is a difference in annual earnings, not evidence of unequal pay for equal work: hours worked, occupation, specialty, work interruptions and other factors are not in the data.
- In undergraduate programs, Pell Grant recipients earned less than their classmates from the same program one year out in 3,952 of 5,719 programs (69%), and in 83% of for-profit programs. This is an association, not evidence that receiving a Pell Grant causes lower earnings: Pell status reflects students' economic background and travels with age, independence, work while enrolled and other characteristics not controlled for here.
- Computer science: 75,188
- Economics: 56,818
- Computing, general: 52,089
- Business admin.: 30,453
- Nursing (BSN): 30,426
- Psychology: 18,036
- Mechanical eng.: 15,730
- Civil engineering: 15,321
- Teacher education: 15,349
One row per state, with each finding's state figure: typical associate and bachelor's nursing earnings four years out and their median federal debt; the gap between the highest- and lowest-paying business bachelor's program; for-profit vs public debt comparisons; and the shares of master's programs with debt above first-year pay, of programs where men earned more, and of undergraduate programs where Pell recipients earned less. Blank where a state has too few programs to compare.
| State | ADN typical earnings (associate nursing) | BSN typical earnings (bachelor's nursing) | ADN as % of BSN | ADN median federal debt | BSN median federal debt | Business BA gap between top and bottom program | For-profit debt higher (comparisons) | Master's with debt above first-year pay | Programs where men earn more | Undergraduate programs where Pell recipients earn less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $75,318 | $78,224 | 96.3% | $13,053 | $20,680 | $39,854 | 2 of 2 | 12.2% | 79% | 66% |
| Alaska | $27,583 | $20,834 | ||||||||
| Arizona | $83,223 | $88,892 | 93.6% | $7,449 | $18,692 | $25,653 | 2 of 4 | 5.7% | 81% | 64% |
| Arkansas | $74,178 | $76,783 | 96.6% | $13,341 | $19,500 | $33,447 | 8.6% | 90% | 56% | |
| California | $113,122 | $118,577 | 95.4% | $14,000 | $19,175 | $88,238 | 6 of 7 | 21.4% | 60% | 68% |
| Colorado | $79,985 | $84,331 | 94.8% | $14,250 | $22,223 | $24,565 | 2 of 6 | 17.1% | 66% | 66% |
| Connecticut | $94,738 | $98,756 | 95.9% | $20,563 | $25,000 | $26,945 | 1 of 1 | 12.6% | 57% | 65% |
| Delaware | $97,666 | $11,576 | $20,482 | |||||||
| District of Columbia | $96,845 | $10,500 | $24,000 | 25.9% | 54% | |||||
| Florida | $79,441 | $89,207 | 89.1% | $15,750 | $16,558 | $37,741 | 7 of 8 | 22.1% | 62% | 65% |
| Georgia | $79,874 | $84,253 | 94.8% | $14,753 | $21,198 | $93,296 | 4 of 5 | 14.6% | 64% | 76% |
| Hawaii | $111,027 | $12,000 | $20,250 | |||||||
| Idaho | $78,033 | $76,250 | 102.3% | $13,000 | $17,033 | $24,368 | 1 of 1 | 91% | ||
| Illinois | $77,800 | $83,636 | 93% | $10,250 | $24,063 | $54,723 | 7 of 7 | 17.6% | 58% | 67% |
| Indiana | $72,441 | $81,393 | 89% | $18,500 | $22,539 | $34,489 | 1 of 2 | 7.0% | 73% | 76% |
| Iowa | $71,402 | $75,832 | 94.2% | $16,621 | $24,029 | $22,413 | 1 of 2 | 2.0% | 60% | 68% |
| Kansas | $73,945 | $78,142 | 94.6% | $11,400 | $20,500 | $31,898 | 1 of 1 | 3.4% | 70% | 77% |
| Kentucky | $71,988 | $82,184 | 87.6% | $15,750 | $22,647 | $32,935 | 7 of 9 | 6.4% | 77% | 76% |
| Louisiana | $79,819 | $85,928 | 92.9% | $20,830 | $21,889 | $53,898 | 1 of 3 | 17.1% | 68% | 65% |
| Maine | $76,355 | $80,422 | 94.9% | $17,555 | $27,000 | $19,970 | 1 of 1 | |||
| Maryland | $85,846 | $93,442 | 91.9% | $13,949 | $21,500 | $37,062 | 7.4% | 61% | 63% | |
| Massachusetts | $86,833 | $93,278 | 93.1% | $12,000 | $25,000 | $69,391 | 18.1% | 50% | 68% | |
| Michigan | $76,546 | $81,602 | 93.8% | $14,663 | $25,000 | $95,452 | 2 of 3 | 11.2% | 63% | 69% |
| Minnesota | $77,952 | $84,492 | 92.3% | $17,663 | $20,452 | $40,158 | 4 of 4 | 7.6% | 66% | 70% |
| Mississippi | $75,438 | $82,147 | 91.8% | $11,250 | $18,333 | $27,573 | 1 of 1 | 22.0% | 82% | |
| Missouri | $74,019 | $79,507 | 93.1% | $15,000 | $22,825 | $40,958 | 5 of 6 | 12.4% | 66% | 71% |
| Montana | $73,465 | $81,191 | 90.5% | $19,219 | $22,802 | |||||
| Nebraska | $72,463 | $77,272 | 93.8% | $12,749 | $25,635 | $33,083 | 4.8% | 80% | 79% | |
| Nevada | $93,026 | $96,934 | 96% | $19,048 | $21,164 | 1 of 1 | 73% | 67% | ||
| New Hampshire | $82,242 | $90,784 | 90.6% | $19,744 | $27,000 | $22,626 | 2.8% | 84% | 86% | |
| New Jersey | $93,594 | $102,386 | 91.4% | $15,120 | $22,750 | $52,797 | 6 of 8 | 8.9% | 62% | 65% |
| New Mexico | $82,974 | $91,105 | 91.1% | $11,629 | $18,875 | |||||
| New York | $90,390 | $108,022 | 83.7% | $16,300 | $20,084 | $52,491 | 10 of 11 | 21.5% | 52% | 66% |
| North Carolina | $75,963 | $80,383 | 94.5% | $12,718 | $21,000 | $95,546 | 1 of 1 | 16.0% | 59% | 71% |
| North Dakota | $72,593 | $77,138 | 94.1% | $18,442 | $24,250 | $67,830 | ||||
| Ohio | $74,721 | $78,035 | 95.8% | $16,625 | $25,000 | $47,765 | 5 of 6 | 12.0% | 68% | 70% |
| Oklahoma | $76,968 | $83,643 | 92% | $14,000 | $16,915 | $25,153 | 1 of 1 | 7.5% | 82% | 69% |
| Oregon | $97,861 | $104,208 | 93.9% | $18,115 | $26,000 | $23,146 | 3 of 4 | 25.4% | 66% | 57% |
| Pennsylvania | $82,011 | $90,865 | 90.3% | $18,690 | $26,450 | $115,069 | 6 of 6 | 18.2% | 58% | 63% |
| Puerto Rico | $25,839 | $35,472 | 72.8% | $12,375 | $9,500 | $14,188 | 2 of 2 | 39.5% | 86% | |
| Rhode Island | $88,019 | $17,875 | $25,875 | $31,708 | 49% | 66% | ||||
| South Carolina | $75,242 | $75,803 | 99.3% | $15,500 | $23,667 | $31,305 | 0 of 1 | 12.3% | 61% | 70% |
| South Dakota | $77,844 | $17,806 | $25,000 | $18,210 | 6 of 8 | |||||
| Tennessee | $73,546 | $77,092 | 95.4% | $13,035 | $23,181 | $27,984 | 7 of 7 | 13.1% | 70% | 65% |
| Texas | $82,081 | $88,815 | 92.4% | $13,281 | $20,007 | $62,898 | 7 of 8 | 6.6% | 73% | 72% |
| Utah | $75,049 | $80,852 | 92.8% | $13,135 | $13,508 | $41,447 | 2 of 2 | 1.7% | 88% | 75% |
| Vermont | $82,571 | $19,000 | $25,250 | $30,846 | ||||||
| Virginia | $78,545 | $88,467 | 88.8% | $12,400 | $19,152 | $82,035 | 5 of 9 | 9.3% | 69% | 67% |
| Washington | $88,906 | $92,431 | 96.2% | $14,000 | $23,180 | $34,232 | 1 of 1 | 14.6% | 64% | 71% |
| West Virginia | $74,193 | $82,760 | 89.6% | $18,675 | $24,875 | $29,907 | 3 of 7 | 4.0% | 72% | 69% |
| Wisconsin | $73,861 | $80,322 | 92% | $11,807 | $21,750 | $43,142 | 3 of 4 | 7.7% | 67% | 73% |
| Wyoming | $74,358 | $13,438 | $17,074 |
Questions families ask
- Is an associate degree in nursing worth it compared with a BSN?
- On earnings, it is close in most states. In 37 of 43 states with enough programs to compare, the typical associate nursing program pays at least 90% of the typical bachelor's program four years after graduating, and its graduates borrowed less: a median $14,971 in federal loans against $22,442. Nationally the typical programs pay $79,607 and $84,700 (College Scorecard, 2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23). Many hospitals prefer or require a BSN for some roles, and the associate figures describe nurses who did not go on to a higher degree.
- Does it matter which college I attend for my major?
- It depends on the major. Among computer science bachelor's programs the top tenth pays at least $75,188 more than the bottom tenth four years out; for law degrees the gap is $75,028 and for MBAs $69,014. For mechanical engineering it is $15,730 and for teacher education $15,349. Part of any gap is where graduates work and who enrols, not only what the college teaches.
- Do for-profit colleges lead to higher pay than public colleges for the same program?
- Usually not, and they usually cost graduates more in debt. Comparing the same program at the same credential level in the same state, for-profit graduates' median federal debt was higher in 125 of 160 comparisons, while their median earnings were higher in 69 of 146. Nursing is the exception on earnings: for-profit nursing graduates earned more in 21 of 27 state comparisons, as well as owing more.
- How many master's programs leave graduates owing more than they earn in their first year?
- 14.5% of master's programs with the data (831 of 5,727): the median federal debt was larger than graduates' median earnings in the year after graduating. It was 24.2% at private nonprofit universities, 16.9% at for-profits and 5.8% at public universities. For bachelor's programs it was 4.8%. First-year earnings were measured in 2020 and 2021 and are an early snapshot, especially for fields that require supervised licensure hours.
- Do women earn less than men with the same degree from the same college?
- In annual earnings one year out, usually yes. Men had the higher median in 66% of 7,070 programs compared, and in 328 of 352 nursing programs; in the typical program women earned 95 cents per dollar men earned. This is a difference in annual earnings, not evidence of unequal pay for equal work: hours worked, occupation, specialty, work interruptions and other factors are not in the data.
- Do Pell Grant recipients earn less after graduating from the same program?
- One year out, in 69% of 5,719 undergraduate programs compared, Pell recipients' median earnings were below their classmates'; at for-profit colleges it was 83%. In the typical program Pell recipients earned 96 cents per dollar. This is an association, not evidence that receiving a Pell Grant causes lower earnings: Pell status reflects students' economic background and travels with age, independence, work while enrolled and other characteristics not controlled for here.
Methodology
Source: the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard "Most Recent Cohorts: Field of Study" file, release of 10 June 2026, with state from the IPEDS 2025 institutional directory. A program is one institution (six-digit OPEID) × 4-digit CIP field × credential level. Scorecard computes each figure per six-digit OPEID and repeats it on every branch campus, so repeated rows were collapsed to one program; the repeats carried identical values in every case. Rows with no UNITID (closed or merged institutions) and non-credential coursework were dropped, leaving 208,678 programs.
Earnings four years out are Scorecard's EARN_MDN_4YR: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars, for federal-aid recipients who worked and were not enrolled. A program enters an earnings comparison only with at least 30 graduates in that earnings cohort (32,468 programs).
Debt is Scorecard's median federal loan debt at completion (Stafford and Grad PLUS, not Parent PLUS), for graduates of 2018-19 and 2019-20, and the monthly payment is Scorecard's standard 10-year figure. First-year earnings (EARN_MDN_1YR) describe the same graduating classes as the debt, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars.
"Typical program" is the median across programs of each program's own median, unweighted by size. The national medians quoted for nursing are Scorecard's own benchmark across all graduates of that field and credential.
State figures use programs whose campuses are all in one state; multi-state systems are counted nationally only. The nursing comparison needs at least three programs of each credential in a state. Top-versus-bottom state gaps need five programs. Master's, sex and Pell state shares are shown only where at least 30 programs are compared.
The spread for a field is the 90th minus the 10th percentile of program medians, among groups with at least 100 programs. The sector comparison is matched on three things at once: state, 4-digit federal (CIP) field and credential level. For each of 12 field-and-credential combinations offered by both sectors (associate and bachelor's nursing, practical nursing, medical and dental support, allied health, cosmetology, business and entrepreneurship), the median across public programs in a state is compared with the median across for-profit programs in the same state, field and credential. A state enters a debt comparison only when both sectors have a published debt figure there, and an earnings comparison only when both have a program above the cohort floor. Private nonprofit programs are not part of this comparison.
Group comparisons (men and women; Pell recipients and classmates) use the first-year series, where each group has at least 30 graduates measured. The Pell comparison covers undergraduate programs only, because graduate students cannot receive Pell Grants. The four-year group splits in this file describe an older calculation than the four-year headline and are not used.
Every figure is computed by scripts/build-program-earnings-report.mjs from the federal file and committed as an aggregate; none is typed by hand. The headline figures were reproduced by two further independent computations.
Limitations
- This report is descriptive: it is an association in federal data, not a ranking of programs and not an estimate of what any college or credential causes. Who enrols, their prior preparation, where graduates live and the hours they work all shape these figures.
- Earnings cover graduates who received federal student aid, worked and were not enrolled. Scorecard also removes graduates who went on to a higher credential, which matters for nursing: associate-degree earnings describe nurses who stayed at the associate level.
- Scorecard perturbs earnings for privacy; its documentation says most medians fall within a few percent of the true value. Shares across many programs are robust to that; any single small program is not.
- Online-first universities are counted in their home state (Western Governors University in Utah, Grand Canyon University in Arizona, Southern New Hampshire University in New Hampshire, Walden University in Minnesota), although their graduates live everywhere.
- The sex comparison uses Scorecard's categories ("male" and "not male") and annual earnings. It is a difference in annual earnings, not evidence of unequal pay for equal work: hours worked, part-time work, occupation, specialty, shift choices and work interruptions are not in the data.
- The Pell comparison is an association, not evidence that receiving a Pell Grant causes lower earnings. Pell status marks lower family income at enrollment and travels with age, independence, caregiving and work while enrolled, none of which is controlled for here.
- Debt is the median among borrowers, and the share of graduates who borrowed differs by sector; this file does not give that share. Debt is in nominal dollars.
- Nothing here is a federal accountability result. The Department of Education's earnings and debt tests use other cohorts, formulas and thresholds.
For journalists
CampusPin analysed 32,468 college programs in the Education Department's College Scorecard field-of-study data (June 2026 release). In 37 of 43 states, the typical associate nursing program pays within 10% of the typical bachelor's program four years out, with a median $14,971 in federal debt against $22,442. For the same program in the same state, for-profit graduates owe more than public-college graduates in 78% of comparisons but earn more in fewer than half. The college matters almost five times as much for computer science pay (a $75,188 spread between the top and bottom tenth of programs) as for mechanical engineering ($15,730). All figures are descriptive; none is an accountability result.
Free to cite with attribution to CampusPin and a link to this page. The state table downloads as CSV, and every program's figures, school by school, are in CampusPin's program earnings dataset, linked from the program table on each college's profile. Caveats we ask you to carry: (1) earnings cover federal-aid recipients who worked and were not enrolled, and associate nursing figures exclude graduates who went on to a BSN; (2) these are associations, not effects of a college or credential; (3) the sex comparison is annual earnings without hours. Contact: [email protected].
Sources, methodology & citation
Sources used across this page
Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.
Program-level median earnings one and four years after completing, and median federal loan debt at completion, by institution, 4-digit CIP field and credential level.
College Scorecard, Field of Study data documentation
How the field-of-study cohorts are built, which graduates are counted, and how small cells are suppressed and perturbed for privacy.
IPEDS / NCES College Navigator
Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.
Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.
Suggested citation
CampusPin. (2026). Same Degree, Different Paycheck: what 32,468 college programs pay and what their graduates owe. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/research/same-degree-different-paycheck
More in College cost & outcomes
Work Without a Bachelor’s Degree Is 70% of U.S. Jobs. Here Is What It Actually Pays
Occupations most people enter without a bachelor's degree account for 70% of U.S. employment. Only 1.1% of that work sits in occupations paying $100,000 or more, yet 29% of it pays above the typical job in its own state, and the states where that happens most are not the ones the salary lists name.
Is Your Major a Certificate or a Degree? For 17 Fields, It Depends on the State
Across 5,878 field-and-state combinations, what credential a field awards is mostly a property of the field, not the state: grouping by field accounts for 76% of the variation and grouping by state 5%. But 22 fields swing by more than 50 percentage points depending on where you study.
Does a Pricier College Pay Off? Cost vs. Graduation and Earnings
Across 3,258 U.S. colleges with cost and graduation data in CampusPin's snapshot, higher-net-price institutions tend to post higher median graduation rates (34% in the lowest cost band vs 72% in the highest) and higher median earnings, an association driven largely by selectivity and sector, not proof that paying more buys a better outcome.
Cost vs. Outcomes Within Each College Sector: Where the Price–Graduation Link Holds, and Where It Disappears
A companion to our cost-vs-outcomes report: splitting the same 3,258 colleges by sector shows the headline "higher price, higher graduation" pattern is largely between sectors. Within the two-year sectors it is flat or slightly negative (public two-year 34% to 32% across cost bands); within four-year sectors a selectivity gradient remains.
Cost and Outcomes by State: How College Net Price, Graduation, and Earnings Vary Across the Country
Across 3,254 U.S. colleges in CampusPin's snapshot, the median net price is $16,256, the median graduation rate is 49%, and median ten-year earnings are $45,066. State medians vary widely (graduation runs about 29% to 59% among the 37 jurisdictions meeting the sample threshold), reflecting each state's mix of institutions, not a ranking of state quality.
FAFSA Lower Earnings List: 999 Schools Flagged, Down From 1,365
The FAFSA warns first-year students when a school's graduates earn less than typical high school graduates. The list most coverage reported, 1,365 schools in December 2025, was replaced on 22 March 2026. In the current release 999 of 4,948 schools with an earnings figure are flagged: 480 came off and 114 were added.
Nursing Graduates vs RN Pay by State: the early-career benchmark
Four years after completing, graduates of the typical bachelor's nursing program in a state earned 94% of that state's median registered-nurse wage, and associate's graduates 88%. The share runs from 74% in Washington to 107% in Louisiana, and it is lowest where nurses are paid most. Early-career earnings against an all-experience benchmark: context, not a measure of program quality or underpayment.