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

  • Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services
  • Public university
  • Boise, ID
  • About 88 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Boise State accounting graduates earn about what accounting graduates earn nationally, $53,118 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $22,124 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,958. One other Idaho program reports higher pay.

First-year earnings$53,11845th percentile of 636 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$67,88828% more than year one
Median federal debt$22,1243rd lowest of 6 Idaho programs
Debt-to-earnings42%Idaho median 48%, national 45%

How it compares

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

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

Debt and first-year pay at every Idaho accounting program

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

Boise StateOther Idaho 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 28% between the first and fifth year.

Boise State grads, year 1$53,118
Boise State grads, year 5$67,888
All Idaho accounting grads, year 5$67,888

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

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $10,448 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$48,710Median debt $26,578
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$59,158Median debt $19,250

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $235 a month, or 5.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

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

82% of graduates (107 of 131) were working in Idaho one year after graduating. Prices in the Boise City area are about 2% below the national average, so a $53,118 salary here buys what about $53,987 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

$74,730

Median pay in Idaho. 5,570 people work in this job in Idaho. 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%: $48,170Top 10%: $121,820

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$48,310

Median pay in Idaho. 9,540 people work in this job in Idaho. 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%: $34,690Top 10%: $72,870

Financial Managers

$127,210

Median pay in Idaho. 3,120 people work in this job in Idaho. 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%: $76,890Top 10%: $213,230

Financial and Investment Analysts

$100,830

Median pay in Idaho. 680 people work in this job in Idaho. 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%: $61,660Top 10%: $145,670

About Boise State

Accounting ranks 9th of 39 bachelor's programs at Boise State by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($85,596), Nursing ($79,301), and Construction Management ($77,109).

Other accounting bachelor's programs near Boise

Common questions

The median graduate earns $53,118 one year after graduating and $67,888 five years after. The median across accounting bachelor's programs in Idaho is $46,752.

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 Idaho 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

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

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