Austin Peay Accounting (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services
- Public university
- Clarksville, TN
- About 28 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Austin Peay accounting graduates earn less than graduates of most accounting programs nationally, $37,566 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $21,588 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,958. Several Tennessee programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Tennessee and national columns are the medians across all accounting bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Tennessee accounting program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Tennessee medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $229 a month, or 7.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
70% of graduates (21 of 30) were working in Tennessee one year after graduating. Prices in the Clarksville area are about 9% below the national average, so a $37,566 salary here buys what about $41,305 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
$76,840Median pay in Tennessee. 27,340 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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.
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
$48,180Median pay in Tennessee. 37,680 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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.
Financial Managers
$141,010Median pay in Tennessee. 17,630 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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.
Financial and Investment Analysts
$92,990Median pay in Tennessee. 4,910 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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.
About Austin Peay
Accounting ranks 12th of 27 bachelor's programs at Austin Peay by first-year earnings. The top three are Medical Laboratory Science ($70,028), Nursing ($68,235), and Computer Systems Analysis ($65,084).
Other accounting bachelor's programs near Clarksville
Common questions
The median graduate earns $37,566 one year after graduating. The median across accounting bachelor's programs in Tennessee is $51,425.
The median federal loan balance is $21,588, which ranks 5th lowest of 9 accounting bachelor's programs in Tennessee. That works out to about $229 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 57% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 45%. Compare the cost with other Tennessee programs before deciding.
Most do. 70% (21 of 30) were working in Tennessee one year after graduating.
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 Tennessee 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