How much debt do Penn State accounting graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $26,000, which ranks 9th lowest of 38 accounting bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania. That works out to about $276 a month over 10 years.

Is a accounting degree from Penn State worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 41% 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 Pennsylvania programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

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

Q: Do Penn State accounting graduates stay in Pennsylvania?

Most do. 65% (341 of 525) were working in Pennsylvania one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services
Public university
University Park, PA
About 218 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Penn State accounting graduates earn more than graduates of most accounting programs nationally, $63,425 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $26,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,958. It is one of the higher-paying accounting degrees in Pennsylvania.

First-year earnings$63,42584th percentile of 636 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$87,15237% more than year one

Median federal debt$26,0009th lowest of 38 Pennsylvania programs

Debt-to-earnings41%Pennsylvania median 46%, national 45%

How it compares

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

	Penn State	Pennsylvania	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$63,425	$57,685	$54,059
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$87,152	$73,187	$71,308
Median federal debt at graduation	$26,000	$27,000	$24,958
Debt as share of first-year pay	41%	46%	45%
Programs compared		41	636

Five years out, Penn State graduates earn more than the national figure and about $13,965 more than the Pennsylvania median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Pennsylvania accounting program

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

Penn StateOther Pennsylvania 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 37% between the first and fifth year.

Penn State grads, year 1$63,425

Penn State grads, year 5$87,152

All Pennsylvania accounting grads, year 5$73,187

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 $8,739 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$58,743Median debt $26,914

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$67,482Median debt $26,000

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $276 a month, or 5.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (404 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	10–14%
Paying down the balance	45–49%
Paused payments (forbearance)	15–19%
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, 165 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $37,400.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

65% of graduates (341 of 525) were working in Pennsylvania one year after graduating. Prices in the State College area are about 3% below the national average, so a $63,425 salary here buys what about $65,547 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 Pennsylvania. 54,290 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $50,680Top 10%: $130,270

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$48,440

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 48,920 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $34,960Top 10%: $69,570

Financial Managers

$145,610

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 32,180 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $83,180Top 10%: $286,240

Financial and Investment Analysts

$84,460

Median pay in Pennsylvania. 13,310 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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%: $57,260Top 10%: $155,320

About Penn State

In-state tuition and fees	$20,644 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$41,790 / year
Average net price after aid	$32,875 / year
Admission rate	61%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	86%
Undergraduate students	42,284

Accounting ranks 30th of 103 bachelor's programs at Penn State by first-year earnings. The top three are Petroleum Engineering ($85,795), Computer Engineering ($85,446), and Computer and Information Science ($84,050).

Other accounting bachelor's programs near University Park

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Penn StateUniversity Park, PA · public		$63,425	$26,000
Saint Francis UniversityLoretto, PA · private nonprofit	45 mi	$49,800	$31,000
Susquehanna UniversitySelinsgrove, PA · private nonprofit	52 mi	$65,209	$27,000
Bucknell UniversityLewisburg, PA · private nonprofit	52 mi	$75,776	$26,881
Shippensburg University of PennsylvaniaShippensburg, PA · public	54 mi	$58,049	$26,949
Central Penn CollegeSummerdale, PA · private for-profit	59 mi	$52,185	$48,383

Common questions

The median graduate earns $63,425 one year after graduating and $87,152 five years after. The median across accounting bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania is $57,685.

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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania, ranked41 programs by pay and debt Accounting bachelor's programs in the US, ranked636 programs by pay and debt All Penn State programs, ranked121 programs by pay and debt