How much debt do Barnard College history graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $16,425, which ranks 5th lowest of 33 history bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $174 a month over 10 years.

Is a history degree from Barnard College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 34% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%.

Barnard College History (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in History
Private nonprofit college
New York, NY
About 39 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Barnard College history graduates earn more than graduates of most history programs nationally, $48,092 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $16,425 in federal loans, less than at 90% of history programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying history degrees in New York.

First-year earnings$48,09296th percentile of 370 programs nationally

Median federal debt$16,4255th lowest of 33 New York programs

Debt-to-earnings34%New York median 77%, national 73%

How it compares

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

	Barnard College	New York	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$48,092	$30,192	$31,710
Median federal debt at graduation	$16,425	$23,250	$23,973
Debt as share of first-year pay	34%	77%	73%
Programs compared		35	370

Debt and first-year pay at every New York history program

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

Barnard CollegeOther New York programs

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 $174 a month, or 4.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $48,092 salary here buys what about $42,725 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 history, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$97,070

Median pay in New York. 70,660 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $60,070Top 10%: $136,450

Natural Sciences Managers

$134,680

Median pay in New York. 5,690 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $65,440Top 10%: $291,780

Tour and Travel Guides

$44,450

Median pay in New York. 2,870 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $34,220Top 10%: $85,740

Museum Technicians and Conservators

$74,550

Median pay in New York. 1,050 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $46,000Top 10%: $103,800

About Barnard College

Tuition and fees	$69,888 / year
Average net price after aid	$28,800 / year
Admission rate	9%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	93%
Undergraduate students	3,264

History ranks 5th of 13 bachelor's programs at Barnard College by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($107,434), Economics ($85,860), and Political Science ($57,298).

Other history bachelor's programs near New York

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Barnard CollegeNew York, NY · private nonprofit		$48,092	$16,425
Columbia UniversityNew York, NY · private nonprofit	Under 1 mi	$53,828	$22,000
City College of New YorkNew York, NY · public	1 mi	$30,290	$11,487
Hunter CollegeNew York, NY · public	3 mi	$28,790	$10,500
Fordham UniversityBronx, NY · private nonprofit	5 mi	$20,075	$26,000
Lehman CollegeBronx, NY · public	6 mi	$43,874	$15,090
NYUNew York, NY · private nonprofit	6 mi	$39,636	$19,000
Queens CollegeQueens, NY · public	9 mi	$27,769	$13,000
New Jersey City UniversityJersey City, NJ · public	9 mi	$40,919	$25,629

Common questions

The median graduate earns $48,092 one year after graduating. The median across history bachelor's programs in New York is $30,192.

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 New York 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 history 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

History bachelor's programs in New York, ranked35 programs by pay and debt History bachelor's programs in the US, ranked370 programs by pay and debt All Barnard College programs, ranked13 programs by pay and debt