Which New Mexico State bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Civil Engineering graduates leave with a median of $13,382 in federal loans, the lowest among 37 New Mexico State bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does New Mexico State cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $8,183 a year, and $25,307 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $8,889 a year.

How many New Mexico State programs report graduate pay?

40 bachelor's programs and 8 associate's programs at New Mexico State report first-year pay, and 43 of them also report federal debt.

New Mexico State Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

New Mexico State University-Main Campus
Public university
Las Cruces, NM
11,946 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

40 New Mexico State bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Electrical Engineering pays the most in the first year ($82,790), and Anthropology the least ($12,059). The median program pays $33,008. New Mexico State also has 8 associate's programs that report pay.

In-state tuition and fees$8,183Per year. Out-of-state $25,307

Average net price after aid$8,889Per year

Graduation rate55%Within 6 years

Admission rate89%Of applicants

All 40 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in New Mexico" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across New Mexico. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in New Mexico
1	Electrical EngineeringAbout 41 graduates a year	$82,790	$97,373	$23,250	1st of 2
2	Chemical EngineeringAbout 25 graduates a year	$75,766	$89,216	$15,000	1st of 3
3	NursingAbout 182 graduates a year	$73,229	$77,392	$20,500	5th of 5
4	Aerospace EngineeringAbout 80 graduates a year	$68,002	$95,469	$24,537	1st of 1
5	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 90 graduates a year	$63,674	$87,850	$21,261	2nd of 2
6	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 122 graduates a year	$62,813	$98,083	$18,759	1st of 3
7	Engineering TechnologyAbout 37 graduates a year	$60,250	$84,655	$22,000	1st of 1
8	Civil EngineeringAbout 33 graduates a year	$60,212	$87,875	$13,382	1st of 2
9	FinanceAbout 44 graduates a year	$48,868	$55,084	$15,670	1st of 1
10	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 26 graduates a year	$45,016	$50,639	$15,112	1st of 3
11	Teacher EducationAbout 92 graduates a year	$41,888	$46,143	$24,705	2nd of 5
12	Agricultural BusinessAbout 24 graduates a year	$41,268	$42,214	Not reported	1st of 1
13	BusinessAbout 83 graduates a year	$39,442	$46,931	$24,225	1st of 1
14	AccountingAbout 41 graduates a year	$38,057	$66,295	$14,750	2nd of 2
15	MicrobiologyAbout 8 graduates a year	$36,198	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
16	Business AdministrationAbout 57 graduates a year	$35,599	$60,042	$20,000	4th of 4
17	Political ScienceAbout 26 graduates a year	$35,393	$41,483	$21,500	1st of 2
18	Wildlife ScienceAbout 23 graduates a year	$33,603	$48,906	$16,449	1st of 1
19	Social WorkAbout 34 graduates a year	$33,510	$44,034	$24,500	2nd of 2
20	MarketingAbout 76 graduates a year	$33,191	$64,563	$21,297	1st of 1
21	JournalismAbout 29 graduates a year	$32,825	$42,400	$18,250	1st of 2
22	Special EducationAbout 11 graduates a year	$31,963	$65,983	$19,000	2nd of 2
23	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 141 graduates a year	$31,568	$45,935	$24,656	2nd of 5
24	SociologyAbout 25 graduates a year	$31,376	$41,470	$24,986	2nd of 3
25	Hospitality ManagementAbout 33 graduates a year	$29,942	$40,174	$21,085	1st of 1
26	Criminal JusticeAbout 152 graduates a year	$29,553	$45,750	$20,642	4th of 5
27	Animal ScienceAbout 77 graduates a year	$28,475	$41,175	$18,489	1st of 1
28	Public HealthAbout 22 graduates a year	$27,729	$46,471	$23,500	1st of 1
29	Linguistics and Language StudiesAbout 46 graduates a year	$27,720	$46,805	$19,125	1st of 2
30	AgricultureAbout 25 graduates a year	$26,666	Not reported	$22,993	1st of 1
31	BiologyAbout 99 graduates a year	$26,533	$49,889	$20,312	2nd of 2
32	PsychologyAbout 104 graduates a year	$26,250	$45,418	$17,725	4th of 5
33	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 26 graduates a year	$25,965	$36,859	$20,938	1st of 1
34	Mental Health and Addiction ServicesAbout 27 graduates a year	$25,631	Not reported	$24,421	3rd of 3
35	Film and PhotographyAbout 39 graduates a year	$25,344	$35,433	$15,625	1st of 1
36	Graphic CommunicationsAbout 30 graduates a year	$24,115	Not reported	$22,500	1st of 1
37	Kinesiology and Exercise ScienceAbout 74 graduates a year	$23,701	$51,840	$20,500	1st of 1
38	Visual and Performing ArtsAbout 25 graduates a year	$18,470	$34,364	$28,000	2nd of 2
39	TheatreAbout 6 graduates a year	$17,980	$35,769	$17,009	1st of 2
40	AnthropologyAbout 21 graduates a year	$12,059	Not reported	Not reported	2nd of 2

Program names link to the program's own page, and New Mexico ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five New Mexico programs in the field do too.

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

One more bachelor's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

All 8 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in New Mexico" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across New Mexico. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in New Mexico
1	NursingGraduates a year not reported	$78,510	$80,465	$16,467	2nd of 8
2	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsGraduates a year not reported	$56,196	$53,700	$9,995	2nd of 4
3	Data ProcessingGraduates a year not reported	$38,559	$36,600	$9,750	1st of 1
4	BusinessGraduates a year not reported	$30,628	$40,116	$7,571	1st of 1
5	Welding and MachiningGraduates a year not reported	$27,920	$50,881	Not reported	2nd of 2
6	Health and Medical AdministrationGraduates a year not reported	$27,876	$27,977	Not reported	1st of 2
7	Liberal Arts and General StudiesGraduates a year not reported	$27,868	$32,811	$10,497	3rd of 9
8	Criminal JusticeGraduates a year not reported	$27,638	$36,982	$7,425	2nd of 2

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Electrical Engineering$82,790
Chemical Engineering$75,766
Nursing$73,229
Aerospace Engineering$68,002
Computer and Information Science$63,674

Lowest median debt

Civil Engineering$13,382
Accounting$14,750
Chemical Engineering$15,000
Subject-Area Teacher Education$15,112
Film and Photography$15,625

Largest programs

NursingAbout 182 graduates a year
Criminal JusticeAbout 152 graduates a year
Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 141 graduates a year
Mechanical EngineeringAbout 122 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 104 graduates a year

Common questions

Electrical Engineering graduates earn a median of $82,790 in their first year, the most of 40 New Mexico State bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
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 New Mexico rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels