How much debt do Goucher College economics graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 6th lowest of 7 economics bachelor's programs in Maryland. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.

Is a economics degree from Goucher College worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 53% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 43%. Compare the cost with other Maryland programs before deciding.

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

Bachelor's in Economics
Private nonprofit college
Baltimore, MD
About 10 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Goucher College economics graduates earn about what economics graduates earn nationally, $46,774 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $22,717. Several Maryland programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$46,77433rd percentile of 338 programs nationally

Median federal debt$25,0006th lowest of 7 Maryland programs

Debt-to-earnings53%Maryland median 40%, national 43%

How it compares

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

	Goucher College	Maryland	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$46,774	$51,483	$51,725
Median federal debt at graduation	$25,000	$21,920	$22,717
Debt as share of first-year pay	53%	40%	43%
Programs compared		7	338

Debt and first-year pay at every Maryland economics program

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

Goucher CollegeOther Maryland 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 $265 a month, or 6.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Baltimore area are about 4% above the national average, so a $46,774 salary here buys what about $44,765 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

$78,670

Median pay in Maryland. 16,640 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $58,150Top 10%: $102,690

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

$76,370

Median pay in Maryland. 13,570 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $41,600Top 10%: $145,600

Data Scientists

$136,370

Median pay in Maryland. 3,340 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $77,930Top 10%: $213,270

Social Science Research Assistants

$65,550

Median pay in Maryland. 700 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $47,260Top 10%: $113,020

About Goucher College

Tuition and fees	$53,350 / year
Average net price after aid	$22,470 / year
Admission rate	78%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	57%
Undergraduate students	964

Economics ranks 1st of 5 bachelor's programs at Goucher College by first-year earnings. The top three are Economics ($46,774), Business Administration ($46,511), and English ($32,545).

Other economics bachelor's programs near Baltimore

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Goucher CollegeBaltimore, MD · private nonprofit		$46,774	$25,000
Towson UniversityTowson, MD · public	1 mi	$50,910	$18,838
Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD · private nonprofit	6 mi	$78,181	$12,494
UMBCBaltimore, MD · public	12 mi	$54,859	$21,920
Washington CollegeChestertown, MD · private nonprofit	31 mi	$50,835	$27,000
University of MarylandCollege Park, MD · public	35 mi	$58,650	$20,097
Gettysburg CollegeGettysburg, PA · private nonprofit	45 mi	$62,925	$27,000
Franklin and Marshall CollegeLancaster, PA · private nonprofit	46 mi	$52,801	$23,048
George MasonFairfax, VA · public	55 mi	$53,024	$21,500

Common questions

The median graduate earns $46,774 one year after graduating. The median across economics bachelor's programs in Maryland is $51,483.

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 Maryland 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 Maryland, ranked7 programs by pay and debt Economics bachelor's programs in the US, ranked338 programs by pay and debt All Goucher College programs, ranked5 programs by pay and debt