Ohio State Economics (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Economics
- Public university
- Columbus, OH
- About 272 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Ohio State economics graduates earn about what economics graduates earn nationally, $50,209 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $23,125 in federal loans, close to the national median of $22,717. Several Ohio programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Ohio and national columns are the medians across all economics bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Ohio State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $6,299 less than the Ohio median. Several Ohio programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio economics program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Ohio medians.
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.
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 $4,257 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $245 a month, or 5.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
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, 57 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $24,317.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
73% of graduates (156 of 215) were working in Ohio one year after graduating. Prices in the Columbus area are about 5% below the national average, so a $50,209 salary here buys what about $52,592 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 economics, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$78,800Median pay in Ohio. 49,540 people work in this job in Ohio. 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.
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
$72,790Median pay in Ohio. 27,370 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 82,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Data Scientists
$102,630Median pay in Ohio. 6,100 people work in this job in Ohio. 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.
Social Science Research Assistants
$50,330Median pay in Ohio. 240 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Ohio State
Economics ranks 40th 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 economics bachelor's programs near Columbus
Common questions
The median graduate earns $50,209 one year after graduating and $72,851 five years after. The median across economics bachelor's programs in Ohio is $55,087.
The median federal loan balance is $23,125, which ranks 5th lowest of 13 economics bachelor's programs in Ohio. That works out to about $245 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 46% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 43%. Compare the cost with other Ohio programs before deciding.
Most do. 73% (156 of 215) were working in Ohio one year after graduating.
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 economics 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