Universities With the Lowest Debt-to-Earnings Ratio (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Graduates of Berea College carry the lightest debt relative to pay in EDsmart Data's analysis: median debt equals 8.3% of earnings 10 years after entry. At the typical bachelor's university, that figure is 39.7%.
Key Facts
- #1: Berea College (8.3%)
- Median bachelor's university: 39.7%
- Universities evaluated: 1,198
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Universities with the lowest debt-to-earnings ratio
Low debt and high pay together
Our analysis finds the 50 lowest-burden universities all keep median debt under 18.2% of graduates' annual earnings.
Bachelor's-predominant institutions with 1,000+ undergraduates.
Top 50 universities with the lowest debt-to-earnings ratio
| Rank · University | State | Type | Debt as % of earnings | Median debt | Earnings 10 yrs after entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Berea College | KY | Private nonprofit | 8.3% | $3,591 | $43,150 |
| 2. Princeton University | NJ | Private nonprofit | 9.4% | $10,320 | $110,066 |
| 3. Stanford University | CA | Private nonprofit | 9.7% | $12,000 | $124,080 |
| 4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology | MA | Private nonprofit | 10.3% | $14,768 | $143,372 |
| 5. Johns Hopkins University | MD | Private nonprofit | 11.7% | $10,250 | $87,555 |
| 6. Wellesley College | MA | Private nonprofit | 11.8% | $10,000 | $84,803 |
| 7. Brown University | RI | Private nonprofit | 12.2% | $11,428 | $93,487 |
| 8. Rice University | TX | Private nonprofit | 12.3% | $11,000 | $89,718 |
| 9. Claremont McKenna College | CA | Private nonprofit | 12.9% | $13,500 | $104,736 |
| 10. Yale University | CT | Private nonprofit | 12.9% | $12,975 | $100,533 |
| 11. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | TX | Public | 13.3% | $12,268 | $92,348 |
| 12. Duke University | NC | Private nonprofit | 13.3% | $13,000 | $97,800 |
| 13. Cornell University | NY | Private nonprofit | 13.5% | $14,000 | $104,043 |
| 14. Harvard University | MA | Private nonprofit | 13.8% | $14,000 | $101,817 |
| 15. University of California-Berkeley | CA | Public | 14.1% | $13,000 | $92,446 |
| 16. University of Pennsylvania | PA | Private nonprofit | 14.1% | $15,715 | $111,371 |
| 17. Williams College | MA | Private nonprofit | 14.4% | $12,761 | $88,665 |
| 18. Brigham Young University | UT | Private nonprofit | 14.6% | $11,069 | $75,790 |
| 19. University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo | PR | Public | 14.7% | $4,500 | $30,512 |
| 20. Georgetown University | DC | Private nonprofit | 15.0% | $15,500 | $103,494 |
| 21. Pomona College | CA | Private nonprofit | 15.1% | $11,782 | $77,779 |
| 22. CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | NY | Public | 15.2% | $11,512 | $75,971 |
| 23. Vanderbilt University | TN | Private nonprofit | 15.3% | $14,000 | $91,565 |
| 24. University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras | PR | Public | 15.4% | $5,500 | $35,723 |
| 25. University of Puerto Rico | PR | Public | 16.0% | $5,500 | $34,409 |
| 26. University of California-Davis | CA | Public | 16.1% | $13,000 | $80,838 |
| 27. Babson College | MA | Private nonprofit | 16.1% | $20,000 | $123,938 |
| 28. University of Puerto Rico at Cayey | PR | Public | 16.2% | $5,000 | $30,958 |
| 29. University of Chicago | IL | Private nonprofit | 16.3% | $15,000 | $91,885 |
| 30. CUNY Queens College | NY | Public | 16.4% | $10,298 | $62,763 |
| 31. Northwestern University | IL | Private nonprofit | 16.8% | $15,000 | $89,363 |
| 32. University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez | PR | Public | 16.8% | $8,250 | $48,992 |
| 33. University of California-Los Angeles | CA | Public | 17.0% | $14,000 | $82,511 |
| 34. Haverford College | PA | Private nonprofit | 17.0% | $13,621 | $79,966 |
| 35. Scripps College | CA | Private nonprofit | 17.4% | $13,500 | $77,539 |
| 36. CUNY Hunter College | NY | Public | 17.4% | $11,000 | $63,163 |
| 37. Lafayette College | PA | Private nonprofit | 17.5% | $16,000 | $91,410 |
| 38. University of Puerto Rico at Ponce | PR | Public | 17.5% | $5,500 | $31,394 |
| 39. Excelsior University | NY | Private nonprofit | 17.5% | $13,769 | $78,493 |
| 40. Santa Clara University | CA | Private nonprofit | 17.6% | $19,162 | $109,183 |
| 41. Colgate University | NY | Private nonprofit | 17.6% | $15,000 | $85,139 |
| 42. Amherst College | MA | Private nonprofit | 17.7% | $13,740 | $77,644 |
| 43. University of Puerto Rico-Carolina | PR | Public | 18.0% | $5,500 | $30,626 |
| 44. Dartmouth College | NH | Private nonprofit | 18.0% | $17,500 | $97,434 |
| 45. Thomas Edison State University | NJ | Public | 18.0% | $12,500 | $69,331 |
| 46. Brigham Young University-Hawaii | HI | Private nonprofit | 18.1% | $9,413 | $52,064 |
| 47. CUNY Brooklyn College | NY | Public | 18.1% | $11,000 | $60,752 |
| 48. CUNY City College | NY | Public | 18.2% | $11,990 | $66,039 |
| 49. Middlebury College | VT | Private nonprofit | 18.2% | $13,857 | $76,310 |
| 50. University of California-San Diego | CA | Public | 18.2% | $15,500 | $84,943 |
Median debt-to-earnings ratio by university type
What the data shows
Universities at the top of this list combine two things: generous need-based aid that keeps borrowing low, and graduates who land well-paid jobs. Several are elite privates with no-loan aid policies; others are public flagships with low in-state tuition.
The ratio uses completers' median federal debt and earnings of all federal-aid recipients 10 years after entry.
Methodology
Debt-to-earnings = Scorecard median federal debt of completers ÷ median earnings 10 years after entry, shown as a percentage. Bachelor's-predominant institutions with at least 1,000 undergraduates and both fields reported.
Frequently asked questions
Which university has the lowest debt-to-earnings ratio?
Berea College ranks first: median graduate debt is $3,591 against $43,150 in earnings 10 years after entry (8.3%), based on College Scorecard data.
What is a typical debt-to-earnings ratio for a university?
The median bachelor's university sits at 39.7%, meaning debt equals about 40% of one year's pay a decade after starting college.
Do public universities have lower debt-to-earnings?
Public universities have a median of 38.1%, versus 40.9% at private nonprofits and 70.6% at for-profits.
Data sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard institution and field-of-study files (latest release in our extract)