Is a business administration degree from Middlesex Community College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 21% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 38%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Massachusetts programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

Middlesex Community College Business Administration (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Middlesex Community College business administration graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $7,551, which ranks 2nd lowest of 9 business administration associate's programs in Massachusetts. That works out to about $80 a month over 10 years.

Q: Do Middlesex Community College business administration graduates stay in Massachusetts?

Most do. 84% (72 of 86) were working in Massachusetts one year after graduating.

Associate's in Business Administration, Management and Operations
Public college
Bedford, MA
About 125 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Middlesex Community College business administration graduates earn about what business administration graduates earn nationally, $36,446 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $7,551 in federal loans, less than at 93% of business administration programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying business administration degrees in Massachusetts.

First-year earnings$36,44659th percentile of 337 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$56,23054% more than year one

Median federal debt$7,5512nd lowest of 9 Massachusetts programs

Debt-to-earnings21%Massachusetts median 27%, national 38%

How it compares

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

	Middlesex Community College	Massachusetts	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$36,446	$37,351	$34,615
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$56,230	$49,480	$44,516
Median federal debt at graduation	$7,551	$10,338	$13,418
Debt as share of first-year pay	21%	27%	38%
Programs compared		10	337

Five years out, Middlesex Community College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $6,750 more than the Massachusetts median.

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

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

Middlesex Community CollegeOther 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 54% between the first and fifth year.

Middlesex Community College grads, year 1$36,446

Middlesex Community College grads, year 5$56,230

All Massachusetts business administration grads, year 5$49,480

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 $4,100 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$35,112Median debt $5,500

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$39,212Median debt $11,000

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $80 a month, or 2.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (48 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. Separately, 22 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $12,122.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

84% of graduates (72 of 86) were working in Massachusetts one year after graduating. Prices in the Boston area are about 8% above the national average, so a $36,446 salary here buys what about $33,663 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

$127,220

Median pay in Massachusetts. 95,880 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $60,700Top 10%: $314,780

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

$76,770

Median pay in Massachusetts. 34,520 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $51,020Top 10%: $107,490

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

$57,490

Median pay in Massachusetts. 20,240 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $39,740Top 10%: $81,300

Project Management Specialists

$114,190

Median pay in Massachusetts. 21,960 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $72,800Top 10%: $174,840

About Middlesex Community College

In-state tuition and fees	$6,048 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$12,120 / year
Average net price after aid	$2,624 / year
Graduation rate (within 1.5 times the normal program length)	23%
Undergraduate students	5,412

Business Administration ranks 6th of 8 associate's programs at Middlesex Community College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($75,351), Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($63,037), and Medical Laboratory Science ($55,924).

Other business administration associate's programs near Bedford

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Middlesex Community CollegeBedford, MA · public		$36,446	$7,551
Massachusetts Bay Community CollegeWellesley Hills, MA · public	15 mi	$32,202	$7,394
Bunker Hill Community CollegeBoston, MA · public	15 mi	$34,817	$9,937
Northern Essex Community CollegeHaverhill, MA · public	22 mi	$46,439	$11,000
Quinsigamond Community CollegeWorcester, MA · public	30 mi	$42,028	$14,671
Massasoit Community CollegeBrockton, MA · public	34 mi	$38,255	$10,738
Mount Wachusett Community CollegeGardner, MA · public	36 mi	$43,503	$11,000
Bristol Community CollegeFall River, MA · public	56 mi	$32,452	$8,628

Common questions

The median graduate earns $36,446 one year after graduating and $56,230 five years after. The median across business administration associate's programs in Massachusetts is $37,351.

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 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 associate's programs in Massachusetts, ranked10 programs by pay and debt Business Administration associate's programs in the US, ranked337 programs by pay and debt All Middlesex Community College programs, ranked8 programs by pay and debt