Is a business administration degree from Ohio Wesleyan University worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 65% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%. Compare the cost with other Ohio programs before deciding.

Ohio Wesleyan University Business Administration (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Ohio Wesleyan University business administration graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 17th lowest of 40 business administration bachelor's programs in Ohio. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.

Q: Do Ohio Wesleyan University business administration graduates stay in Ohio?

Most do. 53% (28 of 53) were working in Ohio one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Business Administration, Management and Operations
Private nonprofit university
Delaware, OH
About 26 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Ohio Wesleyan University business administration graduates earn about what business administration graduates earn nationally, $41,734 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,000. Several Ohio programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$41,73431st percentile of 1,105 programs nationally

Median federal debt$27,00017th lowest of 40 Ohio programs

Debt-to-earnings65%Ohio median 60%, national 55%

How it compares

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

	Ohio Wesleyan University	Ohio	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$41,734	$46,262	$45,396
Median federal debt at graduation	$27,000	$27,000	$26,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	65%	60%	55%
Programs compared		40	1,105

Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio business administration program

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

Ohio Wesleyan UniversityOther Ohio programs

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

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$41,327Median debt $27,000

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$42,427Median debt $27,000

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 8.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

53% of graduates (28 of 53) were working in Ohio one year after graduating. Prices in the Columbus area are about 5% below the national average, so a $41,734 salary here buys what about $43,715 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 business administration, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

General and Operations Managers

$97,700

Median pay in Ohio. 153,160 people work in this job in Ohio. 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%: $47,400Top 10%: $216,360

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

$64,220

Median pay in Ohio. 45,070 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 127,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $44,740Top 10%: $97,170

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

$45,680

Median pay in Ohio. 39,110 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 113,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $30,410Top 10%: $70,400

Project Management Specialists

$95,770

Median pay in Ohio. 34,260 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 76,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $59,280Top 10%: $160,570

About Ohio Wesleyan University

Tuition and fees	$53,888 / year
Average net price after aid	$20,897 / year
Admission rate	56%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	59%
Undergraduate students	1,516

Business Administration ranks 2nd of 8 bachelor's programs at Ohio Wesleyan University by first-year earnings. The top three are Accounting ($48,958), Business Administration ($41,734), and Psychology ($30,775).

Other business administration bachelor's programs near Delaware

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Ohio Wesleyan UniversityDelaware, OH · private nonprofit		$41,734	$27,000
Otterbein UniversityWesterville, OH · private nonprofit	14 mi	$44,689	$26,247
Ohio StateColumbus, OH · public	21 mi	$61,423	$23,250
Ohio Dominican UniversityColumbus, OH · private nonprofit	22 mi	$49,163	$29,666
Franklin UniversityColumbus, OH · private nonprofit	24 mi	$56,588	$36,764
Capital UniversityColumbus, OH · private nonprofit	25 mi	$47,811	$25,500
Mount Vernon Nazarene UniversityMount Vernon, OH · private nonprofit	32 mi	$51,899	$31,024
Ohio Christian UniversityCircleville, OH · private nonprofit	48 mi	$46,452	$35,515
Ashland UniversityAshland, OH · private nonprofit	55 mi	$58,580	$26,889

Common questions

The median graduate earns $41,734 one year after graduating. The median across business administration bachelor's programs in Ohio is $46,262.

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 business administration 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

Business Administration bachelor's programs in Ohio, ranked40 programs by pay and debt Business Administration bachelor's programs in the US, ranked1,105 programs by pay and debt All Ohio Wesleyan University programs, ranked8 programs by pay and debt