How much debt do MIT mathematics graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $10,003, which ranks the lowest of 14 mathematics bachelor's programs in Massachusetts. That works out to about $106 a month over 10 years.

Is a mathematics degree from MIT worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 9% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 44%.

MIT Mathematics (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Mathematics
Private nonprofit school
Cambridge, MA
About 139 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

MIT mathematics graduates earn more than graduates of most mathematics programs nationally, $109,288 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $10,003 in federal loans, less than at 98% of mathematics programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying mathematics degrees in Massachusetts.

First-year earnings$109,28899th percentile of 246 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$226,193107% more than year one

Median federal debt$10,003The lowest of 14 Massachusetts programs

Debt-to-earnings9%Massachusetts median 30%, national 44%

How it compares

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

	MIT	Massachusetts	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$109,288	$61,761	$48,725
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$226,193	$73,536	$69,322
Median federal debt at graduation	$10,003	$19,750	$21,500
Debt as share of first-year pay	9%	30%	44%
Programs compared		15	246

Five years out, MIT graduates earn more than the national figure and about $152,658 more than the Massachusetts median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts mathematics program

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

MITOther 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 107% between the first and fifth year.

MIT grads, year 1$109,288

MIT grads, year 5$226,193

All Massachusetts mathematics grads, year 5$73,536

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 $106 a month, or 1.2% 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 $109,288 salary here buys what about $100,944 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 mathematics, 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

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

Natural Sciences Managers

$267,290

Median pay in Massachusetts. 10,590 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $153,490Top 10%: $329,820

Statisticians

$96,710

Median pay in Massachusetts. 2,480 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $76,920Top 10%: $174,740

About MIT

Tuition and fees	$62,396 / year
Average net price after aid	$20,111 / year
Admission rate	5%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	96%
Undergraduate students	4,535

Mathematics ranks 4th of 12 bachelor's programs at MIT by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($154,492), Mathematics and Computer Science ($126,153), and Electrical Engineering ($117,345).

Other mathematics bachelor's programs near Cambridge

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
MITCambridge, MA · private nonprofit		$109,288	$10,003
Boston UniversityBoston, MA · private nonprofit	Under 1 mi	$64,604	$19,750
Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA · private nonprofit	1 mi	$76,392	$21,750
Tufts UniversityMedford, MA · private nonprofit	4 mi	$110,512	$17,750
Boston CollegeChestnut Hill, MA · private nonprofit	4 mi	$74,144	$18,025
Bentley UniversityWaltham, MA · private nonprofit	7 mi	$74,737	$19,334
UMass LowellLowell, MA · public	24 mi	$49,571	$25,539
Bridgewater StateBridgewater, MA · public	26 mi	$48,457	$27,000
College of the Holy CrossWorcester, MA · private nonprofit	37 mi	$61,761	$27,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $109,288 one year after graduating and $226,193 five years after. The median across mathematics bachelor's programs in Massachusetts is $61,761.

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 mathematics 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

Mathematics bachelor's programs in Massachusetts, ranked15 programs by pay and debt Mathematics bachelor's programs in the US, ranked246 programs by pay and debt All MIT programs, ranked12 programs by pay and debt