How much debt do Northwest University music graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $19,500, which ranks the lowest of 6 music bachelor's programs in Washington. That works out to about $207 a month over 10 years.

Is a music degree from Northwest University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 63% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 92%.

Northwest University Music (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Music
Private nonprofit university
Kirkland, WA
About 10 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Northwest University music graduates earn about what music graduates earn nationally, $31,179 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $19,500 in federal loans, less than at 85% of music programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying music degrees in Washington.

First-year earnings$31,17966th percentile of 229 programs nationally

Median federal debt$19,500The lowest of 6 Washington programs

Debt-to-earnings63%Washington median 105%, national 92%

How it compares

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

	Northwest University	Washington	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$31,179	$25,280	$25,532
Median federal debt at graduation	$19,500	$26,000	$26,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	63%	105%	92%
Programs compared		6	229

Debt and first-year pay at every Washington music program

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

Northwest UniversityOther Washington programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $207 a month, or 8.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Seattle area are about 11% above the national average, so a $31,179 salary here buys what about $28,056 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 music, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$102,670

Median pay in Washington. 14,880 people work in this job in Washington. 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%: $62,950Top 10%: $128,410

Sound Engineering Technicians

$73,130

Median pay nationwide. 160 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Music Directors and Composers

$75,060

Median pay in Washington. 260 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $51,230Top 10%: $161,370

About Northwest University

Tuition and fees	$36,035 / year
Average net price after aid	$22,288 / year
Admission rate	83%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	71%
Undergraduate students	645

Music ranks 6th of 7 bachelor's programs at Northwest University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($84,504), Business Administration ($54,779), and Teacher Education ($49,499).

Other music bachelor's programs near Kirkland

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Northwest UniversityKirkland, WA · private nonprofit		$31,179	$19,500
University of Puget SoundTacoma, WA · private nonprofit	30 mi	$25,551	$27,000
Pacific Lutheran UniversityTacoma, WA · private nonprofit	37 mi	$17,711	$26,815

Common questions

The median graduate earns $31,179 one year after graduating. The median across music bachelor's programs in Washington is $25,280.

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 Washington 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 music 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

Music bachelor's programs in Washington, ranked6 programs by pay and debt Music bachelor's programs in the US, ranked229 programs by pay and debt All Northwest University programs, ranked8 programs by pay and debt