How much debt do Ohio State accounting graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $23,284, which ranks 8th lowest of 26 accounting bachelor's programs in Ohio. That works out to about $247 a month over 10 years.

Is a accounting degree from Ohio State worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 37% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 45%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 5% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Ohio programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

Do Ohio State accounting graduates stay in Ohio?

Most do. 68% (234 of 345) were working in Ohio one year after graduating.

Ohio State Accounting (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services
Public university
Columbus, OH
About 297 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Ohio State accounting graduates earn more than graduates of most accounting programs nationally, $62,399 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $23,284 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,958. It is one of the higher-paying accounting degrees in Ohio.

First-year earnings$62,39981st percentile of 636 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$89,59244% more than year one

Median federal debt$23,2848th lowest of 26 Ohio programs

Debt-to-earnings37%Ohio median 45%, national 45%

How it compares

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

	Ohio State	Ohio	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$62,399	$54,929	$54,059
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$89,592	$73,311	$71,308
Median federal debt at graduation	$23,284	$27,000	$24,958
Debt as share of first-year pay	37%	45%	45%
Programs compared		30	636

Five years out, Ohio State graduates earn more than the national figure and about $16,281 more than the Ohio median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio accounting program

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

Ohio StateOther Ohio 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 44% between the first and fifth year.

Ohio State grads, year 1$62,399

Ohio State grads, year 5$89,592

All Ohio accounting grads, year 5$73,311

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 $2,618 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$61,175Median debt $23,820

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$63,793Median debt $23,048

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $247 a month, or 4.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (240 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	15–19%
Paying down the balance	50–54%
Paused payments (forbearance)	10–14%
In default	5% 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. Separately, 71 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $24,618.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

68% of graduates (234 of 345) were working in Ohio one year after graduating. Prices in the Columbus area are about 5% below the national average, so a $62,399 salary here buys what about $65,360 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 accounting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Accountants and Auditors

$79,320

Median pay in Ohio. 50,440 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 115,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $52,140Top 10%: $131,400

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$48,810

Median pay in Ohio. 45,140 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 144,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.

Bottom 10%: $36,110Top 10%: $67,330

Financial Managers

$140,870

Median pay in Ohio. 27,360 people work in this job in Ohio. 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%: $82,190Top 10%: $273,760

Financial and Investment Analysts

$94,280

Median pay in Ohio. 9,760 people work in this job in Ohio. 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%: $57,870Top 10%: $142,420

About Ohio State

In-state tuition and fees	$13,244 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$40,022 / year
Average net price after aid	$17,339 / year
Admission rate	61%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	88%
Undergraduate students	45,638

Accounting ranks 22nd of 98 bachelor's programs at Ohio State by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($83,342), Applied Mathematics ($82,523), and Computer and Information Science ($82,448).

Other accounting bachelor's programs near Columbus

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Ohio StateColumbus, OH · public		$62,399	$23,284
Franklin UniversityColumbus, OH · private nonprofit	3 mi	$51,929	$32,941
Ohio Wesleyan UniversityDelaware, OH · private nonprofit	21 mi	$48,958	$27,000
Cedarville UniversityCedarville, OH · private nonprofit	46 mi	$57,656	$22,875
Wilmington CollegeWilmington, OH · private nonprofit	58 mi	$54,451	$31,000
Wright StateDayton, OH · public	58 mi	$52,651	$25,022

Common questions

The median graduate earns $62,399 one year after graduating and $89,592 five years after. The median across accounting bachelor's programs in Ohio is $54,929.

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 Ohio 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 accounting 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

Accounting bachelor's programs in Ohio, ranked30 programs by pay and debt Accounting bachelor's programs in the US, ranked636 programs by pay and debt All Ohio State programs, ranked104 programs by pay and debt