Rasmussen University Accounting (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Accounting and Related Services
- Private for-profit university
- St. Cloud, MN
- About 26 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Rasmussen University accounting graduates earn more than graduates of most accounting programs nationally, $43,765 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $23,823 in federal loans, more than at 81% of accounting programs in the country. Two other Minnesota programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Minnesota and national columns are the medians across all accounting associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Rasmussen University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $4,832 more than the Minnesota median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Minnesota accounting program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Minnesota 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 19% 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 $253 a month, or 6.9% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
86% of graduates (69 of 80) were working in Minnesota one year after graduating. Prices in the St. Cloud area are about 12% below the national average, so a $43,765 salary here buys what about $49,942 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
$81,600Median pay in Minnesota. 30,530 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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
$54,600Median pay in Minnesota. 26,850 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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
$163,410Median pay in Minnesota. 16,680 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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
$102,990Median pay in Minnesota. 7,450 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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 Rasmussen University
Accounting ranks 8th of 17 associate's programs at Rasmussen University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($68,119), Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($51,036), and Computer Engineering ($48,263).
Other accounting associate's programs near St. Cloud
Common questions
The median graduate earns $43,765 one year after graduating and $52,198 five years after. The median across accounting associate's programs in Minnesota is $43,520.
The median federal loan balance is $23,823, which ranks 4th lowest of 5 accounting associate's programs in Minnesota. That works out to about $253 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 54% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 47%. Compare the cost with other Minnesota programs before deciding.
Most do. 86% (69 of 80) were working in Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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