Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce Accounting (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services
- Private nonprofit university
- Ponce, PR
- About 19 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce accounting graduates earn less than graduates of most accounting programs nationally, $15,925 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $18,750 in federal loans, less than at 87% of accounting programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Puerto Rico median of $23,704.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Puerto Rico and national columns are the medians across all accounting bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Puerto Rico median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Puerto Rico accounting program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Puerto Rico 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 69% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $199 a month, or 15.0% 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.
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
$43,530Median pay in Puerto Rico. 12,370 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. 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.
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
$28,700Median pay in Puerto Rico. 6,650 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. 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.
Financial Managers
$90,660Median pay in Puerto Rico. 3,800 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. 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.
Financial and Investment Analysts
$63,000Median pay in Puerto Rico. 1,460 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. 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.
About Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce
Accounting ranks 7th of 9 bachelor's programs at Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce by first-year earnings. The top three are Psychology ($26,047), Liberal Arts and General Studies ($19,848), and Business Administration ($18,225).
Other accounting bachelor's programs near Ponce
Common questions
The median graduate earns $15,925 one year after graduating and $26,956 five years after. The median across accounting bachelor's programs in Puerto Rico is $23,704.
The median federal loan balance is $18,750, which ranks 11th lowest of 14 accounting bachelor's programs in Puerto Rico. That works out to about $199 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 118% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 45%. Compare the cost with other Puerto Rico programs before deciding.
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 Puerto Rico 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