How much debt do Lehigh University business administration graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $20,500, which ranks 3rd lowest of 65 business administration bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania. That works out to about $217 a month over 10 years.

Is a business administration degree from Lehigh University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 30% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%.

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

Bachelor's in Business Administration, Management and Operations
Private nonprofit university
Bethlehem, PA
About 17 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Lehigh University business administration graduates earn more than graduates of most business administration programs nationally, $69,289 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,500 in federal loans, less than at 83% of business administration programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying business administration degrees in Pennsylvania.

First-year earnings$69,28997th percentile of 1,105 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$102,04347% more than year one

Median federal debt$20,5003rd lowest of 65 Pennsylvania programs

Debt-to-earnings30%Pennsylvania median 58%, national 55%

How it compares

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

	Lehigh University	Pennsylvania	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$69,289	$46,866	$45,396
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$102,043	$65,063	$62,714
Median federal debt at graduation	$20,500	$27,000	$26,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	30%	58%	55%
Programs compared		65	1,105

Five years out, Lehigh University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $36,980 more than the Pennsylvania median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Pennsylvania business administration program

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

Lehigh UniversityOther Pennsylvania 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 47% between the first and fifth year.

Lehigh University grads, year 1$69,289

Lehigh University grads, year 5$102,043

All Pennsylvania business administration grads, year 5$65,063

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 $217 a month, or 3.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (32 borrowers)	Share
Paying down the balance	40–59%

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 Allentown area are about the same as the national average.

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

$103,130

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 172,010 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $49,990Top 10%: $220,530

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

$65,270

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 56,600 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $45,000Top 10%: $97,560

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

$46,690

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 40,970 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $30,830Top 10%: $73,880

Project Management Specialists

$100,150

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 36,150 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $61,600Top 10%: $160,560

About Lehigh University

Tuition and fees	$64,980 / year
Average net price after aid	$36,931 / year
Admission rate	26%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	88%
Undergraduate students	5,898

Business Administration ranks 15th of 21 bachelor's programs at Lehigh University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($88,587), Computer and Information Science ($83,356), and Chemical Engineering ($82,435).

Other business administration bachelor's programs near Bethlehem

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Lehigh UniversityBethlehem, PA · private nonprofit		$69,289	$20,500
Moravian UniversityBethlehem, PA · private nonprofit	2 mi	$41,179	$27,000
DeSales UniversityCenter Valley, PA · private nonprofit	5 mi	$57,580	$27,000
Muhlenberg CollegeAllentown, PA · private nonprofit	7 mi	$56,434	$27,000
Kutztown University of PennsylvaniaKutztown, PA · public	22 mi	$45,703	$27,000
Delaware Valley UniversityDoylestown, PA · private nonprofit	24 mi	$36,232	$26,000
East Stroudsburg University of PennsylvaniaEast Stroudsburg, PA · public	29 mi	$39,651	$26,000
Gwynedd Mercy UniversityGwynedd Valley, PA · private nonprofit	29 mi	$55,645	$29,687
Albright CollegeReading, PA · private nonprofit	33 mi	$39,711	$26,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $69,289 one year after graduating and $102,043 five years after. The median across business administration bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania is $46,866.

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 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 Pennsylvania, ranked65 programs by pay and debt Business Administration bachelor's programs in the US, ranked1,105 programs by pay and debt All Lehigh University programs, ranked21 programs by pay and debt