How much debt do Rutgers history graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $21,728, which ranks the lowest of 10 history bachelor's programs in New Jersey. That works out to about $230 a month over 10 years.

Is a history degree from Rutgers worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 64% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several New Jersey programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

Rutgers History (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: Do Rutgers history graduates stay in New Jersey?

Most do. 80% (129 of 161) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in History
Public university
New Brunswick, NJ
About 95 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Rutgers history graduates earn about what history graduates earn nationally, $33,763 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $21,728 in federal loans, close to the national median of $23,973. Several New Jersey programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$33,76364th percentile of 370 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$58,98175% more than year one

Median federal debt$21,728The lowest of 10 New Jersey programs

Debt-to-earnings64%New Jersey median 72%, national 73%

How it compares

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

	Rutgers	New Jersey	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$33,763	$34,934	$31,710
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$58,981	$55,308	$50,314
Median federal debt at graduation	$21,728	$25,500	$23,973
Debt as share of first-year pay	64%	72%	73%
Programs compared		11	370

Five years out, Rutgers graduates earn more than the national figure and about $3,673 more than the New Jersey median.

Debt and first-year pay at every New Jersey history program

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

RutgersOther New Jersey 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 75% between the first and fifth year.

Rutgers grads, year 1$33,763

Rutgers grads, year 5$58,981

All New Jersey history grads, year 5$55,308

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 about the same in their first year as other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $23,000 against $19,500.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$34,185Median debt $23,000

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$33,568Median debt $19,500

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $230 a month, or 8.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (171 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	10% or less
Paying down the balance	20–29%
Paused payments (forbearance)	10–19%
In default	10% 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, 39 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $23,113.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

80% of graduates (129 of 161) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating. Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $33,763 salary here buys what about $29,995 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 history, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$82,200

Median pay in New Jersey. 38,140 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $63,040Top 10%: $108,230

Natural Sciences Managers

$207,030

Median pay in New Jersey. 10,040 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $136,840Top 10%: $317,420

Tour and Travel Guides

$36,640

Median pay in New Jersey. 390 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $32,220Top 10%: $80,800

Museum Technicians and Conservators

$43,780

Median pay in New Jersey. 110 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $32,220Top 10%: $76,770

About Rutgers

In-state tuition and fees	$17,929 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$37,441 / year
Average net price after aid	$24,406 / year
Admission rate	58%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	84%
Undergraduate students	37,751

History ranks 57th of 74 bachelor's programs at Rutgers by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($87,594), Electrical Engineering ($82,598), and Computer and Information Science ($80,448).

Other history bachelor's programs near New Brunswick

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
RutgersNew Brunswick, NJ · public		$33,763	$21,728
Kean UniversityUnion, NJ · public	17 mi	$34,934	$26,000
Rider UniversityLawrenceville, NJ · private nonprofit	22 mi	$46,393	$27,000
TCNJEwing, NJ · public	24 mi	$26,218	$25,000
New Jersey City UniversityJersey City, NJ · public	24 mi	$40,919	$25,629
Monmouth UniversityWest Long Branch, NJ · private nonprofit	28 mi	$48,482	$27,000
Montclair StateMontclair, NJ · public	28 mi	$31,607	$25,500
NYUNew York, NY · private nonprofit	28 mi	$39,636	$19,000
Hunter CollegeNew York, NY · public	31 mi	$28,790	$10,500

Common questions

The median graduate earns $33,763 one year after graduating and $58,981 five years after. The median across history bachelor's programs in New Jersey is $34,934.

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 New Jersey 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 history 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

History bachelor's programs in New Jersey, ranked11 programs by pay and debt History bachelor's programs in the US, ranked370 programs by pay and debt All Rutgers programs, ranked75 programs by pay and debt