How much debt do Ottawa University-Ottawa accounting graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $35,854, which ranks 10th lowest of 10 accounting bachelor's programs in Kansas. That works out to about $380 a month over 10 years.

Is a accounting degree from Ottawa University-Ottawa worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 69% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 45%. Compare the cost with other Kansas programs before deciding.

Ottawa University-Ottawa Accounting (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services
Private nonprofit university
Ottawa, KS
About 5 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Ottawa University-Ottawa accounting graduates earn about what accounting graduates earn nationally, $51,664 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $35,854 in federal loans, more than at 95% of accounting programs in the country. Several Kansas programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$51,66440th percentile of 636 programs nationally

Median federal debt$35,85410th lowest of 10 Kansas programs

Debt-to-earnings69%Kansas median 43%, national 45%

How it compares

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

	Ottawa University-Ottawa	Kansas	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$51,664	$54,795	$54,059
Median federal debt at graduation	$35,854	$22,250	$24,958
Debt as share of first-year pay	69%	43%	45%
Programs compared		10	636

Debt and first-year pay at every Kansas accounting program

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

Ottawa University-OttawaOther Kansas 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 $380 a month, or 8.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the parts of Kansas outside metro areas are about 14% below the national average, so a $51,664 salary here buys what about $60,130 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

$79,000

Median pay in Kansas. 13,610 people work in this job in Kansas. 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%: $52,960Top 10%: $129,800

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$47,290

Median pay in Kansas. 15,380 people work in this job in Kansas. 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%: $32,130Top 10%: $64,130

Financial Managers

$159,380

Median pay in Kansas. 5,190 people work in this job in Kansas. 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%: $97,510Top 10%: $273,640

Financial and Investment Analysts

$84,860

Median pay in Kansas. 1,870 people work in this job in Kansas. 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%: $58,680Top 10%: $128,750

About Ottawa University-Ottawa

Tuition and fees	$35,880 / year
Average net price after aid	$27,963 / year
Admission rate	83%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	28%
Undergraduate students	870

Accounting ranks 3rd of 10 bachelor's programs at Ottawa University-Ottawa by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($76,207), Health and Medical Administration ($75,385), and Accounting ($51,664).

Other accounting bachelor's programs near Ottawa

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Ottawa University-OttawaOttawa, KS · private nonprofit		$51,664	$35,854
University of KansasLawrence, KS · public	25 mi	$53,842	$21,219
Washburn UniversityTopeka, KS · public	38 mi	$55,197	$20,853
UMKCKansas City, MO · public	47 mi	$54,357	$22,350
Emporia StateEmporia, KS · public	51 mi	$40,967	$20,000
Park UniversityParkville, MO · private nonprofit	51 mi	$50,801	$28,461

Common questions

The median graduate earns $51,664 one year after graduating. The median across accounting bachelor's programs in Kansas is $54,795.

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 Kansas 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 Kansas, ranked10 programs by pay and debt Accounting bachelor's programs in the US, ranked636 programs by pay and debt All Ottawa University-Ottawa programs, ranked10 programs by pay and debt