Verified Federal Data · No Paid Rankings
Student Debt vs. Graduate Earnings
Not all student debt is equal. At some schools, graduates earn 15 times what they borrowed. At others, they're still paying it off decades later. This is the data, school by school.
How We Measure Debt Burden
We calculate a debt-to-income ratio for each school:
A ratio of 0.2 means graduates borrowed the equivalent of 20% of one year's salary. A ratio of 1.5 means they borrowed a year and a half of earnings. The federal threshold for manageable debt is a ratio below 1.0.
- →Median debt: Annual median amount borrowed by students receiving federal loans. Source: College Scorecard.
- →Median earnings at 10 years: Median annual earnings 10 years after first enrolling, working and not currently enrolled. Source: College Scorecard, from IRS tax records.
50 Schools With the Best Debt-to-Earnings Ratio (2026)
Lower ratio = less debt relative to what graduates earn. Federal Gainful Employment threshold: below 1.0.
| # | School | Earnings (10yr) | Debt/Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $43,150 | 0.33× | |
| 2 | $110,066 | 0.38× | |
| 3 | $90,610 | 0.39× | |
| 4 | $124,080 | 0.39× | |
| 5 | $143,372 | 0.41× | |
| 6 | $87,555 | 0.47× | |
| 7 | $84,803 | 0.47× | |
| 8 | $93,487 | 0.49× | |
| 9 | $89,718 | 0.49× | |
| 10 | $45,910 | 0.49× | |
| 11 | $100,533 | 0.52× | |
| 12 | $137,047 | 0.52× | |
| 13 | $104,736 | 0.52× | |
| 14 | $41,544 | 0.53× | |
| 15 | $97,800 | 0.53× | |
| 16 | $104,043 | 0.54× | |
| 17 | $101,817 | 0.55× | |
| 18 | $111,371 | 0.56× | |
| 19 | $92,446 | 0.56× | |
| 20 | $75,790 | 0.58× | |
| 21 | $88,665 | 0.58× | |
| 22 | $30,512 | 0.59× | |
| 23 | $103,494 | 0.60× | |
| 24 | $129,455 | 0.60× | |
| 25 | $77,779 | 0.61× | |
| 26 | $91,565 | 0.61× | |
| 27 | $75,971 | 0.61× | |
| 28 | $35,723 | 0.62× | |
| 29 | $80,838 | 0.64× | |
| 30 | $91,885 | 0.65× | |
| 31 | $70,649 | 0.65× | |
| 32 | $30,958 | 0.65× | |
| 33 | $123,938 | 0.65× | |
| 34 | $62,763 | 0.66× | |
| 35 | $89,363 | 0.67× | |
| 36 | $82,511 | 0.68× | |
| 37 | $79,966 | 0.68× | |
| 38 | $85,139 | 0.70× | |
| 39 | $109,183 | 0.70× | |
| 40 | $91,410 | 0.70× | |
| 41 | $77,539 | 0.70× | |
| 42 | $63,163 | 0.70× | |
| 43 | $77,644 | 0.71× | |
| 44 | $138,687 | 0.72× | |
| 45 | $60,752 | 0.72× | |
| 46 | $97,434 | 0.72× | |
| 47 | $52,064 | 0.72× | |
| 48 | $83,847 | 0.72× | |
| 49 | $66,039 | 0.73× | |
| 50 | $76,310 | 0.73× |
1,039 schools analyzed. Ratio = total 4-year estimated debt ÷ median annual earnings at 10 years. Data: IPEDS + College Scorecard. Updated annually.
893 Schools Where Graduates Carry More Debt Than a Year's Earnings
At 893 four-year, non-profit schools in our database, median estimated total debt exceeds median annual earnings at 10 years. The federal benchmark for financial risk is a debt-to-income ratio above 1.0. These schools cross it. You won't see this breakdown on Niche or US News.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a "manageable" debt-to-income ratio?
The U.S. Department of Education's Gainful Employment rule uses 1.0 as a key threshold: total debt should be less than one year's annual earnings. Financial planners often cite 0.5 or lower as the target for a degree that pays off cleanly. The best schools on this list are well under 0.3.
Is this total debt or annual debt?
The College Scorecard reports median debt per year of enrollment. We multiply by 4 to estimate total 4-year debt. This is an estimate. Some students take fewer years to graduate, some take more. The actual number will vary.
Why are for-profit schools excluded?
For-profit colleges have been the subject of federal enforcement actions and accreditation withdrawals for misleading debt and earnings data. We excluded them to give a cleaner picture of the non-profit sector, where most students enroll.
Where does the earnings data come from?
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Median earnings 10 years after first enrolling. Derived from IRS tax records matched to federal student aid data. Not a survey. Not self-reported.