How much debt do Kent State finance graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 11th lowest of 20 finance bachelor's programs in Ohio. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.

Is a finance degree from Kent State worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 49% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 44%. Compare the cost with other Ohio programs before deciding.

Do Kent State finance graduates stay in Ohio?

Most do. 82% (126 of 153) were working in Ohio one year after graduating.

Kent State Finance (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Finance and Financial Management Services
Public university
Kent, OH
About 129 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Kent State finance graduates earn about what finance graduates earn nationally, $51,153 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $23,250. Several Ohio programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$51,15335th percentile of 407 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$74,51246% more than year one

Median federal debt$25,00011th lowest of 20 Ohio programs

Debt-to-earnings49%Ohio median 44%, national 44%

How it compares

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

	Kent State	Ohio	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$51,153	$55,590	$53,373
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$74,512	$77,197	$77,457
Median federal debt at graduation	$25,000	$24,683	$23,250
Debt as share of first-year pay	49%	44%	44%
Programs compared		21	407

Five years out, Kent State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $2,685 less than the Ohio median. Several Ohio programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.

Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio finance program

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

Kent StateOther Ohio 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 46% between the first and fifth year.

Kent State grads, year 1$51,153

Kent State grads, year 5$74,512

All Ohio finance grads, year 5$77,197

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 $10,015 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$47,169Median debt $28,000

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$57,184Median debt $21,435

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $265 a month, or 6.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (137 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	10–19%
Paying down the balance	30–39%
Paused payments (forbearance)	10–19%
In default	10% or less

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. Separately, 31 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $23,897.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

82% of graduates (126 of 153) were working in Ohio one year after graduating. Prices in the Akron area are about 7% below the national average, so a $51,153 salary here buys what about $54,785 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 finance, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

General and Operations Managers

$97,700

Median pay in Ohio. 153,160 people work in this job in Ohio. 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%: $47,400Top 10%: $216,360

Financial Managers

$140,870

Median pay in Ohio. 27,360 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 65,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $82,190Top 10%: $273,760

Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents

$73,300

Median pay in Ohio. 13,520 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 35,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $47,540Top 10%: $168,100

Financial and Investment Analysts

$94,280

Median pay in Ohio. 9,760 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $57,870Top 10%: $142,420

About Kent State

In-state tuition and fees	$13,232 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$23,082 / year
Average net price after aid	$20,787 / year
Admission rate	86%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	64%
Undergraduate students	19,320

Finance ranks 11th of 56 bachelor's programs at Kent State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($66,990), Construction Management ($64,652), and Computer Science ($60,051).

Other finance bachelor's programs near Kent

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Kent StateKent, OH · public		$51,153	$25,000
University of AkronAkron, OH · public	10 mi	$55,946	$23,900
University of Mount UnionAlliance, OH · private nonprofit	21 mi	$51,503	$27,000
John Carroll UniversityUniversity Heights, OH · private nonprofit	26 mi	$55,590	$27,000
Case WesternCleveland, OH · private nonprofit	29 mi	$65,784	$26,048
Cleveland StateCleveland, OH · public	30 mi	$49,425	$24,365
Baldwin Wallace UniversityBerea, OH · private nonprofit	31 mi	$51,347	$27,000
Youngstown StateYoungstown, OH · public	36 mi	$44,973	$21,935

Common questions

The median graduate earns $51,153 one year after graduating and $74,512 five years after. The median across finance bachelor's programs in Ohio is $55,590.

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 Ohio 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 finance 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

Finance bachelor's programs in Ohio, ranked21 programs by pay and debt Finance bachelor's programs in the US, ranked407 programs by pay and debt All Kent State programs, ranked66 programs by pay and debt