How much debt do NYU chemistry graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $23,250, which ranks 6th lowest of 9 chemistry bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $246 a month over 10 years.

Is a chemistry degree from NYU worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 62% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%. Compare the cost with other New York programs before deciding.

NYU Chemistry (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Chemistry
Private nonprofit university
New York, NY
About 30 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

NYU chemistry graduates earn about what chemistry graduates earn nationally, $37,249 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $23,250 in federal loans, close to the national median of $23,600. Two other New York programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$37,24929th percentile of 189 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$80,938117% more than year one

Median federal debt$23,2506th lowest of 9 New York programs

Debt-to-earnings62%New York median 54%, national 55%

How it compares

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

	NYU	New York	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$37,249	$34,677	$42,204
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$80,938	$68,071	$66,546
Median federal debt at graduation	$23,250	$23,000	$23,600
Debt as share of first-year pay	62%	54%	55%
Programs compared		10	189

Five years out, NYU graduates earn more than the national figure and about $12,867 more than the New York median.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York chemistry program

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

NYUOther New York 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 117% between the first and fifth year.

NYU grads, year 1$37,249

NYU grads, year 5$80,938

All New York chemistry grads, year 5$68,071

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 $246 a month, or 7.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (33 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 New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $37,249 salary here buys what about $33,092 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 chemistry, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$97,070

Median pay in New York. 70,660 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $60,070Top 10%: $136,450

Data Scientists

$130,460

Median pay in New York. 23,970 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $73,330Top 10%: $214,080

Natural Sciences Managers

$134,680

Median pay in New York. 5,690 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $65,440Top 10%: $291,780

Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health

$82,160

Median pay in New York. 3,700 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $58,240Top 10%: $139,490

About NYU

Tuition and fees	$62,796 / year
Average net price after aid	$37,050 / year
Admission rate	9%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	88%
Undergraduate students	28,663

Chemistry ranks 29th of 43 bachelor's programs at NYU by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($111,360), Management Science ($102,572), and Computer and Information Science ($87,608).

Other chemistry bachelor's programs near New York

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
NYUNew York, NY · private nonprofit		$37,249	$23,250
Hunter CollegeNew York, NY · public	3 mi	$29,340	$9,000
Lehman CollegeBronx, NY · public	11 mi	$31,815	$12,136
Stony Brook UniversityStony Brook, NY · public	48 mi	$31,685	$22,750

Common questions

The median graduate earns $37,249 one year after graduating and $80,938 five years after. The median across chemistry bachelor's programs in New York is $34,677.

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 New York 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 chemistry 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

Chemistry bachelor's programs in New York, ranked10 programs by pay and debt Chemistry bachelor's programs in the US, ranked189 programs by pay and debt All NYU programs, ranked44 programs by pay and debt