How much debt do Northern Illinois University finance graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $19,500, which ranks 4th lowest of 20 finance bachelor's programs in Illinois. That works out to about $207 a month over 10 years.

Is a finance degree from Northern Illinois University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 36% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 44%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Illinois programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

Northern Illinois University Finance (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: Do Northern Illinois University finance graduates stay in Illinois?

Most do. 87% (83 of 95) were working in Illinois one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Finance and Financial Management Services
Public university
Dekalb, IL
About 56 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Northern Illinois University finance graduates earn about what finance graduates earn nationally, $54,802 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $19,500 in federal loans, less than at 80% of finance programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying finance degrees in Illinois.

First-year earnings$54,80257th percentile of 407 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$79,50145% more than year one

Median federal debt$19,5004th lowest of 20 Illinois programs

Debt-to-earnings36%Illinois median 42%, national 44%

How it compares

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

	Northern Illinois University	Illinois	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$54,802	$54,261	$53,373
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$79,501	$82,692	$77,457
Median federal debt at graduation	$19,500	$23,326	$23,250
Debt as share of first-year pay	36%	42%	44%
Programs compared		21	407

Five years out, Northern Illinois University graduates earn about the national figure but about $3,191 less than the Illinois median. Several Illinois programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.

Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois finance program

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

Northern Illinois UniversityOther Illinois 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 45% between the first and fifth year.

Northern Illinois University grads, year 1$54,802

Northern Illinois University grads, year 5$79,501

All Illinois finance grads, year 5$82,692

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 $207 a month, or 4.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (102 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20–29%
Paying down the balance	40–49%
Paused payments (forbearance)	10% or less
In default	10% or less

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

87% of graduates (83 of 95) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $54,802 salary here buys what about $52,900 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 finance, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

General and Operations Managers

$103,570

Median pay in Illinois. 171,300 people work in this job in Illinois. 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%: $53,240Top 10%: $269,320

Financial Managers

$165,880

Median pay in Illinois. 52,720 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 65,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $100,070Top 10%: $313,110

Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents

$99,840

Median pay in Illinois. 27,920 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 35,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $50,330Top 10%: $209,840

Financial and Investment Analysts

$101,180

Median pay in Illinois. 20,520 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $64,700Top 10%: $166,090

About Northern Illinois University

Tuition and fees	$13,248 / year
Average net price after aid	$13,391 / year
Admission rate	70%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	49%
Undergraduate students	11,301

Finance ranks 9th of 41 bachelor's programs at Northern Illinois University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($77,257), Nursing ($75,557), and Electrical Engineering ($74,442).

Other finance bachelor's programs near Dekalb

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Northern Illinois UniversityDekalb, IL · public		$54,802	$19,500
Aurora UniversityAurora, IL · private nonprofit	25 mi	$51,437	$24,499
North Central CollegeNaperville, IL · private nonprofit	34 mi	$51,420	$27,000
Benedictine UniversityLisle, IL · private nonprofit	36 mi	$51,444	$25,500
Lewis UniversityRomeoville, IL · private nonprofit	42 mi	$52,742	$25,688
Elmhurst UniversityElmhurst, IL · private nonprofit	42 mi	$57,171	$18,250
Lake Forest CollegeLake Forest, IL · private nonprofit	53 mi	$61,264	$27,000
Northeastern Illinois UniversityChicago, IL · public	54 mi	$48,807	$12,502
Saint Xavier UniversityChicago, IL · private nonprofit	56 mi	$46,452	$23,326

Common questions

The median graduate earns $54,802 one year after graduating and $79,501 five years after. The median across finance bachelor's programs in Illinois is $54,261.

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 Illinois 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 finance 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

Finance bachelor's programs in Illinois, ranked21 programs by pay and debt Finance bachelor's programs in the US, ranked407 programs by pay and debt All Northern Illinois University programs, ranked41 programs by pay and debt