How much debt do Athens State accounting graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $30,500, which ranks 10th lowest of 12 accounting bachelor's programs in Alabama. That works out to about $323 a month over 10 years.

Is a accounting degree from Athens State worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 65% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 45%. Compare the cost with other Alabama programs before deciding.

Athens State Accounting (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: Do Athens State accounting graduates stay in Alabama?

Most do. 90% (78 of 87) were working in Alabama one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services
Public university
Athens, AL
About 61 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Athens State accounting graduates earn less than graduates of most accounting programs nationally, $46,577 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $30,500 in federal loans, more than at 89% of accounting programs in the country. Several Alabama programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$46,57721st percentile of 636 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$61,74233% more than year one

Median federal debt$30,50010th lowest of 12 Alabama programs

Debt-to-earnings65%Alabama median 56%, national 45%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Alabama and national columns are the medians across all accounting bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Athens State	Alabama	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$46,577	$46,800	$54,059
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$61,742	$63,298	$71,308
Median federal debt at graduation	$30,500	$25,764	$24,958
Debt as share of first-year pay	65%	56%	45%
Programs compared		12	636

Five years out, Athens State graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Alabama median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Alabama accounting program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Alabama medians.

Athens StateOther Alabama programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 33% between the first and fifth year.

Athens State grads, year 1$46,577

Athens State grads, year 5$61,742

All Alabama accounting grads, year 5$63,298

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $323 a month, or 8.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (84 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20% or less
Paying down the balance	20–39%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20–39%
In default	20% or less

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

90% of graduates (78 of 87) were working in Alabama one year after graduating. Prices in the Huntsville area are about 7% below the national average, so a $46,577 salary here buys what about $50,044 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to accounting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Accountants and Auditors

$74,880

Median pay in Alabama. 24,300 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 115,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $50,240Top 10%: $123,170

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$44,640

Median pay in Alabama. 19,890 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 144,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.

Bottom 10%: $30,460Top 10%: $60,250

Financial Managers

$140,500

Median pay in Alabama. 7,200 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 65,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $86,340Top 10%: $256,750

Financial and Investment Analysts

$91,290

Median pay in Alabama. 3,410 people work in this job in Alabama. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $52,200Top 10%: $157,320

About Athens State

Undergraduate students

2,446

Accounting ranks 6th of 15 bachelor's programs at Athens State by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($78,435), Other Business ($63,754), and Mathematics ($57,584).

Other accounting bachelor's programs near Athens

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Athens StateAthens, AL · public		$46,577	$30,500
University of Alabama in HuntsvilleHuntsville, AL · public	19 mi	$45,751	$25,000
Alabama A&M UniversityNormal, AL · public	23 mi	$47,156	$28,049
University of North AlabamaFlorence, AL · public	41 mi	$47,022	$21,125

Common questions

The median graduate earns $46,577 one year after graduating and $61,742 five years after. The median across accounting bachelor's programs in Alabama is $46,800.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Alabama comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the accounting program.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Accounting bachelor's programs in Alabama, ranked12 programs by pay and debt Accounting bachelor's programs in the US, ranked636 programs by pay and debt All Athens State programs, ranked15 programs by pay and debt