How much debt do Coe College economics graduates have?

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

Is a economics degree from Coe College worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 64% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 43%. Compare the cost with other Iowa programs before deciding.

Coe College Economics (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Economics
Private nonprofit college
Cedar Rapids, IA
About 16 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Coe College economics graduates earn less than graduates of most economics programs nationally, $42,311 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, more than at 85% of economics programs in the country. Several Iowa programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$42,31116th percentile of 338 programs nationally

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

Debt-to-earnings64%Iowa median 41%, national 43%

How it compares

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

	Coe College	Iowa	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$42,311	$49,314	$51,725
Median federal debt at graduation	$27,000	$22,407	$22,717
Debt as share of first-year pay	64%	41%	43%
Programs compared		5	338

Debt and first-year pay at every Iowa economics program

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

Coe 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 8.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Cedar Rapids area are about 11% below the national average, so a $42,311 salary here buys what about $47,560 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

$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

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

$66,390

Median pay in Iowa. 8,880 people work in this job in Iowa. 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.

Bottom 10%: $40,160Top 10%: $122,120

Data Scientists

$95,830

Median pay in Iowa. 2,300 people work in this job in Iowa. 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.

Bottom 10%: $56,070Top 10%: $146,700

Social Science Research Assistants

$40,940

Median pay in Iowa. 140 people work in this job in Iowa. 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.

Bottom 10%: $22,260Top 10%: $58,470

About Coe College

Tuition and fees	$54,666 / year
Average net price after aid	$18,745 / year
Admission rate	64%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	66%
Undergraduate students	1,164

Economics ranks 4th of 9 bachelor's programs at Coe College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($67,769), Accounting ($59,252), and Business Administration ($47,815).

Other economics bachelor's programs near Cedar Rapids

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Coe CollegeCedar Rapids, IA · private nonprofit		$42,311	$27,000
University of IowaIowa City, IA · public	23 mi	$50,223	$22,407
University of Northern IowaCedar Falls, IA · public	55 mi	$49,314	$17,169
Grinnell CollegeGrinnell, IA · private nonprofit	57 mi	$46,791	$16,950

Common questions

The median graduate earns $42,311 one year after graduating. The median across economics bachelor's programs in Iowa is $49,314.

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 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

Economics bachelor's programs in Iowa, ranked5 programs by pay and debt Economics bachelor's programs in the US, ranked338 programs by pay and debt All Coe College programs, ranked9 programs by pay and debt