Franklin and Marshall College Economics (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Economics
- Private nonprofit college
- Lancaster, PA
- About 41 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Franklin and Marshall College economics graduates earn about what economics graduates earn nationally, $52,801 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $23,048 in federal loans, close to the national median of $22,717. Several Pennsylvania programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Pennsylvania and national columns are the medians across all economics bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Franklin and Marshall College graduates earn about the national figure but about $7,005 less than the Pennsylvania median. Several Pennsylvania programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Pennsylvania economics program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Pennsylvania 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 44% 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 $25,945 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $244 a month, or 5.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Lancaster area are about 2% below the national average, so a $52,801 salary here buys what about $53,738 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
$78,800Median pay in Pennsylvania. 52,240 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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
$68,760Median pay in Pennsylvania. 31,040 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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
$106,850Median pay in Pennsylvania. 13,810 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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
$54,610Median pay in Pennsylvania. 860 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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 Franklin and Marshall College
Economics ranks 2nd of 11 bachelor's programs at Franklin and Marshall College by first-year earnings. The top three are Business Administration ($64,664), Economics ($52,801), and Political Science ($45,928).
Other economics bachelor's programs near Lancaster
Common questions
The median graduate earns $52,801 one year after graduating and $75,967 five years after. The median across economics bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania is $53,995.
The median federal loan balance is $23,048, which ranks 6th lowest of 20 economics bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania. That works out to about $244 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 44% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 43%. Compare the cost with other Pennsylvania programs before deciding.
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 Pennsylvania 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