How much debt do Harvard University economics graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $6,617, which ranks the lowest of 20 economics bachelor's programs in Massachusetts. That works out to about $70 a month over 10 years.

Is a economics degree from Harvard University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 6% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 43%.

Harvard University Economics (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Economics
Private nonprofit university
Cambridge, MA
About 258 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Harvard University economics graduates earn more than graduates of most economics programs nationally, $103,993 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $6,617 in federal loans, less than at more than 99% of economics programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying economics degrees in Massachusetts.

First-year earnings$103,993Top 1% of 338 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$161,25155% more than year one

Median federal debt$6,617The lowest of 20 Massachusetts programs

Debt-to-earnings6%Massachusetts median 44%, national 43%

How it compares

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

	Harvard University	Massachusetts	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$103,993	$57,299	$51,725
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$161,251	$91,255	$77,760
Median federal debt at graduation	$6,617	$25,000	$22,717
Debt as share of first-year pay	6%	44%	43%
Programs compared		21	338

Five years out, Harvard University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $69,996 more than the Massachusetts median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts economics program

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

Harvard UniversityOther Massachusetts 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 55% between the first and fifth year.

Harvard University grads, year 1$103,993

Harvard University grads, year 5$161,251

All Massachusetts economics grads, year 5$91,255

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.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$103,197

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$104,766

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $70 a month, or 0.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Boston area are about 8% above the national average, so a $103,993 salary here buys what about $96,053 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

$95,260

Median pay in Massachusetts. 28,460 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $61,500Top 10%: $122,660

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

$101,810

Median pay in Massachusetts. 39,710 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $58,090Top 10%: $166,970

Data Scientists

$131,750

Median pay in Massachusetts. 9,420 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $81,030Top 10%: $206,220

Social Science Research Assistants

$63,480

Median pay in Massachusetts. 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%: $49,500Top 10%: $82,130

About Harvard University

Tuition and fees	$61,676 / year
Average net price after aid	$19,066 / year
Admission rate	4%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	98%
Undergraduate students	7,601

Economics ranks 4th of 13 bachelor's programs at Harvard University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($152,251), Statistics ($141,116), and Applied Mathematics ($114,279).

Other economics bachelor's programs near Cambridge

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA · private nonprofit		$103,993	$6,617
Boston UniversityBoston, MA · private nonprofit	2 mi	$55,733	$24,500
Tufts UniversityMedford, MA · private nonprofit	2 mi	$75,125	$17,850
Emmanuel CollegeBoston, MA · private nonprofit	2 mi	$51,698	$27,000
Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA · private nonprofit	3 mi	$70,531	$24,500
Boston CollegeChestnut Hill, MA · private nonprofit	4 mi	$72,099	$18,000
UMass BostonBoston, MA · public	6 mi	$46,523	$26,994
Brandeis UniversityWaltham, MA · private nonprofit	7 mi	$57,299	$25,295
Wellesley CollegeWellesley, MA · private nonprofit	11 mi	$86,367	$11,190

Common questions

The median graduate earns $103,993 one year after graduating and $161,251 five years after. The median across economics bachelor's programs in Massachusetts is $57,299.

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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts, ranked21 programs by pay and debt Economics bachelor's programs in the US, ranked338 programs by pay and debt All Harvard University programs, ranked14 programs by pay and debt