Is a business administration degree from Catholic University of America worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 45% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several District of Columbia programs report higher pay.

Catholic University of America Business Administration (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Catholic University of America business administration graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $26,000, which ranks 5th lowest of 7 business administration bachelor's programs in District of Columbia. That works out to about $276 a month over 10 years.

Bachelor's in Business Administration, Management and Operations
Private nonprofit university
Washington, DC
About 164 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Catholic University of America business administration graduates earn more than graduates of most business administration programs nationally, $57,490 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $26,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,000. Several District of Columbia programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$57,49087th percentile of 1,105 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$79,77939% more than year one

Median federal debt$26,0005th lowest of 7 District of Columbia programs

Debt-to-earnings45%District of Columbia median 45%, national 55%

How it compares

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

	Catholic University of America	District of Columbia	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$57,490	$57,490	$45,396
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$79,779	$72,125	$62,714
Median federal debt at graduation	$26,000	$25,000	$26,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	45%	45%	55%
Programs compared		7	1,105

Five years out, Catholic University of America graduates earn more than the national figure and about $7,654 more than the District of Columbia median.

Debt and first-year pay at every District of Columbia business administration program

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

Catholic University of AmericaOther District of Columbia 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 39% between the first and fifth year.

Catholic University of America grads, year 1$57,490

Catholic University of America grads, year 5$79,779

All District of Columbia business administration grads, year 5$72,125

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 $276 a month, or 5.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Washington area are about 9% above the national average, so a $57,490 salary here buys what about $52,799 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 business administration, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

General and Operations Managers

$168,000

Median pay in District of Columbia. 36,150 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 285,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $88,590Top 10%: $312,070

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

$79,200

Median pay in District of Columbia. 4,080 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 127,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $55,060Top 10%: $131,400

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

$58,470

Median pay in District of Columbia. 1,470 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 113,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $45,060Top 10%: $81,430

Project Management Specialists

$104,900

Median pay in District of Columbia. 5,170 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 76,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $64,080Top 10%: $194,170

About Catholic University of America

Tuition and fees	$58,378 / year
Average net price after aid	$29,561 / year
Admission rate	83%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	79%
Undergraduate students	3,154

Business Administration ranks 6th of 12 bachelor's programs at Catholic University of America by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($81,044), Civil Engineering ($77,501), and Mechanical Engineering ($76,409).

Other business administration bachelor's programs near Washington

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Catholic University of AmericaWashington, DC · private nonprofit		$57,490	$26,000
Trinity Washington UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	Under 1 mi	$33,741	$33,093
Howard UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	1 mi	$64,231	$25,000
Gallaudet UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	2 mi	$29,003	$24,000
University of the District of ColumbiaWashington, DC · public	4 mi	$35,894	$32,500
Georgetown UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	4 mi	$77,479	$16,422
University of MarylandCollege Park, MD · public	5 mi	$65,842	$20,500
American UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	5 mi	$58,299	$24,697
Marymount UniversityArlington, VA · private nonprofit	7 mi	$48,217	$26,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $57,490 one year after graduating and $79,779 five years after. The median across business administration bachelor's programs in District of Columbia is $57,490.

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 District of Columbia 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 business administration 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

Business Administration bachelor's programs in District of Columbia, ranked7 programs by pay and debt Business Administration bachelor's programs in the US, ranked1,105 programs by pay and debt All Catholic University of America programs, ranked12 programs by pay and debt