Is a business administration degree from Howard University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 39% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%.

Howard University Business Administration (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Howard University business administration graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 4th lowest of 7 business administration bachelor's programs in District of Columbia. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.

Bachelor's in Business Administration, Management and Operations
Private nonprofit university
Washington, DC
About 27 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Howard University business administration graduates earn more than graduates of most business administration programs nationally, $64,231 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,000. One other District of Columbia program reports higher pay.

First-year earnings$64,23195th percentile of 1,105 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$74,78616% more than year one

Median federal debt$25,0004th lowest of 7 District of Columbia programs

Debt-to-earnings39%District of Columbia median 45%, national 55%

How it compares

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

	Howard University	District of Columbia	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$64,231	$57,490	$45,396
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$74,786	$72,125	$62,714
Median federal debt at graduation	$25,000	$25,000	$26,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	39%	45%	55%
Programs compared		7	1,105

Five years out, Howard University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $2,661 more than the District of Columbia median.

Debt and first-year pay at every District of Columbia business administration program

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

Howard UniversityOther District of Columbia 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 16% between the first and fifth year.

Howard University grads, year 1$64,231

Howard University grads, year 5$74,786

All District of Columbia business administration grads, year 5$72,125

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 $265 a month, or 5.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (27 borrowers)	Share
Paying down the balance	20–39%

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 Washington area are about 9% above the national average, so a $64,231 salary here buys what about $58,990 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 business administration, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

General and Operations Managers

$168,000

Median pay in District of Columbia. 36,150 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 285,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $88,590Top 10%: $312,070

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

$79,200

Median pay in District of Columbia. 4,080 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 127,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $55,060Top 10%: $131,400

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

$58,470

Median pay in District of Columbia. 1,470 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 113,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $45,060Top 10%: $81,430

Project Management Specialists

$104,900

Median pay in District of Columbia. 5,170 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 76,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $64,080Top 10%: $194,170

About Howard University

Tuition and fees	$35,810 / year
Average net price after aid	$50,539 / year
Admission rate	41%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	70%
Undergraduate students	10,108

Business Administration ranks 5th of 14 bachelor's programs at Howard University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Systems Analysis ($92,324), Finance ($81,074), and Nursing ($79,646).

Other business administration bachelor's programs near Washington

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Howard UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit		$64,231	$25,000
Trinity Washington UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	Under 1 mi	$33,741	$33,093
Catholic University of AmericaWashington, DC · private nonprofit	1 mi	$57,490	$26,000
Gallaudet UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	2 mi	$29,003	$24,000
University of the District of ColumbiaWashington, DC · public	3 mi	$35,894	$32,500
Georgetown UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	3 mi	$77,479	$16,422
American UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	4 mi	$58,299	$24,697
Marymount UniversityArlington, VA · private nonprofit	6 mi	$48,217	$26,000
University of MarylandCollege Park, MD · public	6 mi	$65,842	$20,500

Common questions

The median graduate earns $64,231 one year after graduating and $74,786 five years after. The median across business administration bachelor's programs in District of Columbia is $57,490.

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 District of Columbia 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 business administration 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

Business Administration bachelor's programs in District of Columbia, ranked7 programs by pay and debt Business Administration bachelor's programs in the US, ranked1,105 programs by pay and debt All Howard University programs, ranked14 programs by pay and debt