How much debt do Central College Romance languages graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 5th lowest of 5 Romance languages bachelor's programs in Iowa. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.

Is a Romance languages degree from Central College worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 89% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 62%. Compare the cost with other Iowa programs before deciding.

Central College Romance Languages (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Private nonprofit college
Pella, IA
About 13 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Central College Romance languages graduates earn about what Romance languages graduates earn nationally, $30,211 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, more than at 80% of Romance languages programs in the country. Two other Iowa programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$30,21131st percentile of 189 programs nationally

Median federal debt$27,0005th lowest of 5 Iowa programs

Debt-to-earnings89%Iowa median 67%, national 62%

How it compares

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

	Central College	Iowa	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$30,211	$30,211	$34,649
Median federal debt at graduation	$27,000	$23,725	$22,067
Debt as share of first-year pay	89%	67%	62%
Programs compared		5	189

Debt and first-year pay at every Iowa Romance languages program

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

Central CollegeOther Iowa 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 $286 a month, or 11.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the parts of Iowa outside metro areas are about 16% below the national average, so a $30,211 salary here buys what about $35,933 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 Romance languages, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$61,200

Median pay in Iowa. 12,310 people work in this job in Iowa. 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%: $47,480Top 10%: $79,270

Interpreters and Translators

$48,150

Median pay in Iowa. 560 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $34,330Top 10%: $67,290

About Central College

Tuition and fees	$20,988 / year
Average net price after aid	$23,377 / year
Admission rate	86%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	66%
Undergraduate students	1,070

Romance Languages ranks 6th of 8 bachelor's programs at Central College by first-year earnings. The top three are Accounting ($58,850), Business Administration ($55,760), and Teacher Education ($44,000).

Other Romance languages bachelor's programs near Pella

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Central CollegePella, IA · private nonprofit		$30,211	$27,000
Grinnell CollegeGrinnell, IA · private nonprofit	26 mi	$28,691	$17,814
Iowa StateAmes, IA · public	57 mi	$37,909	$23,748

Common questions

The median graduate earns $30,211 one year after graduating. The median across Romance languages bachelor's programs in Iowa is $30,211.

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 Iowa 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 Romance languages 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

Romance Languages bachelor's programs in Iowa, ranked5 programs by pay and debt Romance Languages bachelor's programs in the US, ranked189 programs by pay and debt All Central College programs, ranked8 programs by pay and debt