Borrowing and outcomes
Student debt at Michigan colleges
Across the 72 Michigan colleges that report both figures, median federal student debt at graduation is $20,960, and a median of 39.1% of students take federal loans. Those two numbers belong together: the dollar figure describes only the students who borrowed, so it means something quite different at a college where most students borrow than at one where few do.
Which student-debt number this is
This page measures debt at graduation, by college: what students who borrowed had taken in federal loans by the time they finished at a particular Michigan institution. Most published “average student debt in Michigan” figures measure something else, the total balance carried by borrowers who live in Michigan, which includes graduate-school borrowing and years of accrued interest and is therefore much larger. Both are real; they answer different questions. Use this one to compare colleges, not to estimate a lifetime balance.
Median debt at graduation
$20,960
Middle half: $12,680 to $25,000
Median share who borrow
39.1%
Across 72 colleges
Illustrative monthly payment
$238/mo
10-year standard plan at 6.52%
Michigan colleges by median federal debt at graduation
Lowest median debt first, showing 60 of 72 colleges (43 public, 29 private). This is a sort of one reported figure, not a ranking and not a recommendation. Every row shows the borrower share beside the dollar amount because neither number means much alone.
| College | Median federal debt | Share who borrow | Illustrative payment | Earnings 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macomb Community CollegeWarren, MI · Public two-year | $6,000 | 8.7% | $68/mo | $41,596 |
| Grand Rapids Community CollegeGrand Rapids, MI · Public two-year | $9,000 | 15.6% | $102/mo | $38,377 |
| Lake Michigan CollegeBenton Harbor, MI · Public two-year | $9,000 | 17.1% | $102/mo | $34,466 |
| Alpena Community CollegeAlpena, MI · Public four-year | $9,024 | 9.8% | $103/mo | $36,442 |
| West Shore Community CollegeScottville, MI · Public two-year | $9,089 | 4.8% | $103/mo | $36,115 |
| Oakland Community CollegeAuburn Hills, MI · Public two-year | $9,105 | 15.4% | $103/mo | $37,395 |
| Muskegon Community CollegeMuskegon, MI · Public two-year | $9,125 | 6% | $104/mo | $36,549 |
| Kalamazoo Valley Community CollegeKalamazoo, MI · Public two-year | $9,699 | 17.4% | $110/mo | $38,618 |
| Schoolcraft Community College DistrictLivonia, MI · Public four-year | $10,500 | 7.1% | $119/mo | $42,722 |
| Glen Oaks Community CollegeCentreville, MI · Public two-year | $10,794 | 8.7% | $123/mo | $37,540 |
| Gogebic Community CollegeIronwood, MI · Public two-year | $10,925 | 18% | $124/mo | $40,950 |
| Southwestern Michigan CollegeDowagiac, MI · Public two-year | $10,959 | 18.5% | $125/mo | $37,303 |
| Delta CollegeUniversity Center, MI · Public two-year | $10,978 | 12.5% | $125/mo | $37,781 |
| St Clair County Community CollegePort Huron, MI · Public two-year | $11,750 | 11.8% | $134/mo | $40,177 |
| Wayne County Community College DistrictDetroit, MI · Public two-year | $12,062 | 6.7% | $137/mo | $29,079 |
| Monroe County Community CollegeMonroe, MI · Public two-year | $12,296 | 19.1% | $140/mo | $41,646 |
| Northwestern Michigan CollegeTraverse City, MI · Public four-year | $12,500 | 24% | $142/mo | $38,167 |
| Bay de Noc Community CollegeEscanaba, MI · Public two-year | $12,618 | 18.5% | $143/mo | $35,090 |
| Lansing Community CollegeLansing, MI · Public two-year | $12,700 | 18.2% | $144/mo | $39,206 |
| MIAT College of TechnologyCanton, MI · Private two-year | $12,801 | 38% | $145/mo | $62,575 |
| Mott Community CollegeFlint, MI · Public two-year | $13,000 | 26.7% | $148/mo | $32,538 |
| Kirtland Community CollegeGrayling, MI · Public two-year | $13,067 | 27.7% | $149/mo | $35,831 |
| Washtenaw Community CollegeAnn Arbor, MI · Public two-year | $13,310 | 16.6% | $151/mo | $39,449 |
| Mid Michigan CollegeHarrison, MI · Public two-year | $13,750 | 22.6% | $156/mo | $37,319 |
| Jackson CollegeJackson, MI · Public four-year | $13,875 | 17.7% | $158/mo | $36,898 |
| North Central Michigan CollegePetoskey, MI · Public two-year | $14,000 | 9% | $159/mo | $36,594 |
| Henry Ford CollegeDearborn, MI · Public four-year | $14,250 | 18.2% | $162/mo | $34,795 |
| Walsh CollegeTroy, MI · Private four-year | $16,217 | 57.8% | $184/mo | $72,081 |
| Montcalm Community CollegeSidney, MI · Public two-year | $16,500 | 9.9% | $188/mo | $35,499 |
| Kellogg Community CollegeBattle Creek, MI · Public two-year | $17,000 | 23.3% | $193/mo | $38,329 |
| Siena Heights UniversityAdrian, MI · Private four-year | $18,750 | 68.5% | $213/mo | $57,529 |
| Great Lakes Christian CollegeLansing, MI · Private four-year | $18,779 | 61.7% | $213/mo | $31,053 |
| Cleary UniversityHowell, MI · Private four-year | $19,500 | 43.6% | $222/mo | $54,186 |
| University of Michigan-Ann ArborAnn Arbor, MI · Public four-year | $19,500 | 21% | $222/mo | $83,648 |
| Northwood UniversityMidland, MI · Private four-year | $20,842 | 66.3% | $237/mo | $63,075 |
| Chamberlain University-MichiganTroy, MI · Private four-year | $20,919 | 79.9% | $238/mo | $92,405 |
| Ferris State UniversityBig Rapids, MI · Public four-year | $21,000 | 47% | $239/mo | $54,735 |
| Wayne State UniversityDetroit, MI · Public four-year | $21,250 | 39.7% | $242/mo | $53,493 |
| Kuyper CollegeGrand Rapids, MI · Private four-year | $21,389 | 39.2% | $243/mo | $41,066 |
| Northern Michigan UniversityMarquette, MI · Public four-year | $21,474 | 50.7% | $244/mo | $47,107 |
| University of Michigan-DearbornDearborn, MI · Public four-year | $22,500 | 38.4% | $256/mo | $59,649 |
| Oakland UniversityRochester Hills, MI · Public four-year | $22,750 | 38.9% | $259/mo | $58,612 |
| Aquinas CollegeGrand Rapids, MI · Private four-year | $23,000 | 42.8% | $261/mo | $49,584 |
| Madonna UniversityLivonia, MI · Private four-year | $23,000 | 54.2% | $261/mo | $59,058 |
| Calvin UniversityGrand Rapids, MI · Private four-year | $23,250 | 33.6% | $264/mo | $58,375 |
| Lake Superior State UniversitySault Ste Marie, MI · Public four-year | $23,250 | 43.5% | $264/mo | $49,045 |
| Michigan State UniversityEast Lansing, MI · Public four-year | $23,250 | 33.4% | $264/mo | $67,253 |
| University of Detroit MercyDetroit, MI · Private four-year | $23,250 | 30.6% | $264/mo | $71,030 |
| Grace Christian UniversityWyoming, MI · Private four-year | $24,375 | 57.1% | $277/mo | $41,663 |
| Rochester UniversityRochester Hills, MI · Private four-year | $24,475 | 52.1% | $278/mo | $48,707 |
| Grand Valley State UniversityAllendale, MI · Public four-year | $24,500 | 48.6% | $278/mo | $56,118 |
| Michigan Technological UniversityHoughton, MI · Public four-year | $24,990 | 45.7% | $284/mo | $78,198 |
| Baker CollegeOwosso, MI · Private four-year | $25,000 | 48.3% | $284/mo | $35,833 |
| Cornerstone UniversityGrand Rapids, MI · Private four-year | $25,000 | 54.6% | $284/mo | $47,314 |
| Eastern Michigan UniversityYpsilanti, MI · Public four-year | $25,000 | 45.8% | $284/mo | $51,793 |
| Saginaw Valley State UniversityUniversity Center, MI · Public four-year | $25,000 | 51.2% | $284/mo | $51,955 |
| University of Michigan-FlintFlint, MI · Public four-year | $25,000 | 42% | $284/mo | $53,230 |
| Concordia University Ann ArborAnn Arbor, MI · Private four-year | $25,750 | 55.2% | $293/mo | $56,075 |
| Andrews UniversityBerrien Springs, MI · Private four-year | $26,000 | 34.7% | $295/mo | $53,187 |
| College for Creative StudiesDetroit, MI · Private four-year | $26,000 | 53.3% | $295/mo | $44,860 |
The illustrative payment assumes the standard 10-year federal repayment plan at 6.52%, the U.S. Department of Education, fixed rate for undergraduate Direct Loans first disbursed July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. It is an illustration, not a quote.
What the Michigan borrowing data shows
- Across the 72 Michigan colleges reporting both figures, median federal debt at graduation is $20,960 and the median borrower share is 39.1%. The middle half of these colleges falls between $12,680 and $25,000.
- On the standard 10-year federal repayment plan at 6.52%, $20,960 works out to about $238 a month for 10 years. That is an illustration of one repayment plan, not a quote: income-driven plans produce very different payments, and a real borrower's loans carry the rate in force in each year they borrowed.
- The borrower share varies far more than the dollar figure. At West Shore Community College 4.8% of students take federal loans; at Chamberlain University-Michigan it is 79.9%. Read the two numbers together — a low median at a college where almost nobody borrows describes the few who did, not the typical student.
- Median earnings ten years after entry, across the 72 Michigan colleges here that report it, is $47,611. That figure covers students who received federal aid and reflects the mix of programs and students at each college, not the effect of attending it.
How these figures were built
Every number comes from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard / IPEDS), as carried in CampusPin’s committed snapshot of 2026-08-13. Nothing is recomputed, modelled, or imputed.
An institution appears here only if it reports bothmedian federal debt at graduation and the share of students receiving federal loans. Median debt without the borrower share is the misleading half of the statistic, so a college reporting one and not the other is excluded rather than shown incomplete. Institutions sharing an identical debt, borrower-share and earnings tuple are also excluded, because that pattern means one record’s series was attached to several colleges upstream and the figure cannot be attributed to a single school.
Federal loans only. Private loans, parent PLUS borrowing, and money families pay without borrowing are not in this data, so real household borrowing is higher than these figures. Median debt describes students who borrowed and completed, not all students. Figures reflect a prior cohort and lag the current academic year by one to two federal reporting cycles.
Frequently asked questions
- How much student debt do Michigan college graduates have?
- Across the 72 Michigan colleges that report both figures, the median federal loan debt at graduation is $20,960, and a median of 39.1% of students take federal loans. Individual colleges range from $6,000 to $27,000. These are federal loans only, so households that also used private or parent PLUS loans borrowed more than this.
- Does a low average debt figure mean a college is affordable?
- Not on its own. Median debt describes only the students who borrowed and completed. A college where 15% of students borrow can post a low median while most families pay a high price out of pocket, and a college where most students borrow can post a modest median because its price is genuinely low. Always read the dollar figure together with the share who borrow, which is why this page never shows one without the other.
- Is this every college in Michigan?
- No. This page covers the 72 Michigan institutions in CampusPin's dataset that report BOTH median debt at graduation and the borrower share. A college reporting only one of the two is excluded rather than shown with half the statistic. CampusPin's dataset is also not the complete federal Title IV universe.
- Why is this lower than the average student debt figure I have seen for Michigan?
- Because they measure different things. This page reports median federal debt AT GRADUATION for students at Michigan colleges. The widely published state figures report the total federal balance carried by borrowers who RESIDE in a state, which includes graduate-school borrowing and years of accrued interest on loans taken long ago, so it is substantially higher. Neither is wrong. Use debt at graduation to compare colleges against each other, and the residence figure to understand what people in a state currently owe.
- What is not counted in these figures?
- Private student loans, parent PLUS borrowing, and money families pay without borrowing are all outside this data, so real household cost is higher than the numbers here. The figures also reflect a prior graduating cohort and lag the current academic year by one to two federal reporting cycles.
Limitations of this data
- Median debt covers FEDERAL loans only. Private loans, parent PLUS borrowing, and money families pay without borrowing are not included, so real household cost is higher than this figure.
- It describes students who BORROWED and completed, not all students. Read it together with the borrower share on the same row.
- Figures reflect a prior cohort and lag the current academic year by one to two federal reporting cycles.
- Median earnings ten years out covers students who received federal financial aid, and reflects the mix of programs and students at each institution, not the effect of attending it.
- Reflects institutions in CampusPin's dataset, NOT the full federal Title IV universe.
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Data sources & methodology
Debt, borrower-share, and earnings figures for Michigan colleges come from federal collections reported by each institution.
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.
IPEDS / NCES College Navigator
Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard
Net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context.
Institutional websites
Each school's official admissions, registrar, and financial-aid pages are the authoritative source for current details.
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. Student Debt at Michigan Colleges. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/student-debt/michigan