Claremont McKenna College Economics (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Economics
- Private nonprofit college
- Claremont, CA
- About 124 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Claremont McKenna College economics graduates earn more than graduates of most economics programs nationally, $89,505 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $12,000 in federal loans, less than at 96% of economics programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying economics degrees in California.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all economics bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Claremont McKenna College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $71,553 more than the California median.
Debt and first-year pay at every California economics program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.
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 70% between the first and fifth year.
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 about the same in their first year as other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $127 a month, or 1.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
62% of graduates (29 of 47) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Los Angeles area are about 14% above the national average, so a $89,505 salary here buys what about $78,813 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 economics, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$101,370Median pay in California. 99,230 people work in this job in California. 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.
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
$94,700Median pay in California. 119,070 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 82,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Data Scientists
$141,590Median pay in California. 39,310 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 35% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Social Science Research Assistants
$60,250Median pay in California. 5,300 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Claremont McKenna College
Economics ranks 1st of 2 bachelor's programs at Claremont McKenna College by first-year earnings. The other is Political Science ($42,552).
Other economics bachelor's programs near Claremont
Common questions
The median graduate earns $89,505 one year after graduating and $151,744 five years after. The median across economics bachelor's programs in California is $51,212.
The median federal loan balance is $12,000, which ranks 3rd lowest of 30 economics bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $127 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 13% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 43%.
Most do. 62% (29 of 47) were working in California 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 California 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 economics 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