How much debt do Columbia University electrical engineering graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $12,000, which ranks the lowest of 16 electrical engineering bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $127 a month over 10 years.

Is a electrical engineering degree from Columbia University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 14% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 32%.

Columbia University Electrical Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
Private nonprofit university
New York, NY
About 31 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Columbia University electrical engineering graduates earn more than graduates of most electrical engineering programs nationally, $84,019 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $12,000 in federal loans, less than at 98% of electrical engineering programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying electrical engineering degrees in New York.

First-year earnings$84,01987th percentile of 247 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$112,03233% more than year one

Median federal debt$12,000The lowest of 16 New York programs

Debt-to-earnings14%New York median 32%, national 32%

How it compares

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

	Columbia University	New York	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$84,019	$77,952	$77,928
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$112,032	$98,100	$99,155
Median federal debt at graduation	$12,000	$24,313	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	14%	32%	32%
Programs compared		18	247

Five years out, Columbia University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $13,932 more than the New York median.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York electrical engineering program

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

Columbia UniversityOther New York 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 33% between the first and fifth year.

Columbia University grads, year 1$84,019

Columbia University grads, year 5$112,032

All New York electrical engineering grads, year 5$98,100

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 $127 a month, or 1.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $84,019 salary here buys what about $74,642 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 electrical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Architectural and Engineering Managers

$175,710

Median pay in New York. 8,250 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $128,500Top 10%: $274,870

Electrical Engineers

$119,010

Median pay in New York. 8,770 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $74,870Top 10%: $168,820

Electronics Engineers, Except Computer

$119,180

Median pay in New York. 2,220 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $81,840Top 10%: $174,950

Computer Hardware Engineers

$163,470

Median pay in New York. 3,020 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $101,530Top 10%: $224,490

About Columbia University

Tuition and fees	$71,845 / year
Average net price after aid	$21,590 / year
Admission rate	4%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	96%
Undergraduate students	8,973

Electrical Engineering ranks 5th of 26 bachelor's programs at Columbia University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($118,636), Operations Research ($110,457), and Computer Engineering ($102,083).

Other electrical engineering bachelor's programs near New York

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Columbia UniversityNew York, NY · private nonprofit		$84,019	$12,000
City College of New YorkNew York, NY · public	1 mi	$78,172	$13,563
NYUNew York, NY · private nonprofit	6 mi	$74,220	$24,000
Manhattan UniversityRiverdale, NY · private nonprofit	6 mi	$70,961	$22,750
SUNY Maritime CollegeThroggs Neck, NY · public	9 mi	$77,964	$25,500
New York Institute of TechnologyOld Westbury, NY · private nonprofit	19 mi	$70,362	$26,000
Stony Brook UniversityStony Brook, NY · public	45 mi	$79,571	$14,500

Common questions

The median graduate earns $84,019 one year after graduating and $112,032 five years after. The median across electrical engineering bachelor's programs in New York is $77,952.

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 New York 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 electrical engineering 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

Electrical Engineering bachelor's programs in New York, ranked18 programs by pay and debt Electrical Engineering bachelor's programs in the US, ranked247 programs by pay and debt All Columbia University programs, ranked26 programs by pay and debt