How much debt do Rutgers marketing graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $20,731, which ranks 2nd lowest of 9 marketing bachelor's programs in New Jersey. That works out to about $220 a month over 10 years.

Is a marketing degree from Rutgers worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 43% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 53%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 5% or less.

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

Q: Do Rutgers marketing graduates stay in New Jersey?

Most do. 90% (336 of 373) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Marketing
Public university
New Brunswick, NJ
About 188 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Rutgers marketing graduates earn about what marketing graduates earn nationally, $48,645 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,731 in federal loans, less than at 78% of marketing programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying marketing degrees in New Jersey.

First-year earnings$48,64571st percentile of 471 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$77,46959% more than year one

Median federal debt$20,7312nd lowest of 9 New Jersey programs

Debt-to-earnings43%New Jersey median 67%, national 53%

How it compares

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

	Rutgers	New Jersey	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$48,645	$37,781	$44,567
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$77,469	$69,202	$64,125
Median federal debt at graduation	$20,731	$25,000	$24,250
Debt as share of first-year pay	43%	67%	53%
Programs compared		9	471

Five years out, Rutgers graduates earn more than the national figure and about $8,267 more than the New Jersey median.

Debt and first-year pay at every New Jersey marketing 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 59% between the first and fifth year.

Rutgers grads, year 1$48,645

Rutgers grads, year 5$77,469

All New Jersey marketing grads, year 5$69,202

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 $21,740 against $19,500.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$48,967Median debt $21,740

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$49,584Median debt $19,500

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $220 a month, or 5.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (268 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20–24%
Paying down the balance	40–44%
Paused payments (forbearance)	10–14%
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, 54 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $32,360.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

90% of graduates (336 of 373) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating. Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $48,645 salary here buys what about $43,216 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 marketing, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

$88,190

Median pay in New Jersey. 22,990 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 82,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $49,900Top 10%: $145,010

Sales Managers

$173,020

Median pay in New Jersey. 20,090 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 47,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $103,580Top 10%: $308,630

Marketing Managers

$180,040

Median pay in New Jersey. 13,510 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 34,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $126,760Top 10%: $298,870

Web and Digital Interface Designers

$95,310

Median pay in New Jersey. 2,170 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $50,340Top 10%: $173,470

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

Marketing ranks 31st 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 marketing bachelor's programs near New Brunswick

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
RutgersNew Brunswick, NJ · public		$48,645	$20,731
Kean UniversityUnion, NJ · public	17 mi	$37,781	$25,500
Seton Hall UniversitySouth Orange, NJ · private nonprofit	20 mi	$50,200	$23,250
Rider UniversityLawrenceville, NJ · private nonprofit	22 mi	$44,352	$27,000
New Jersey City UniversityJersey City, NJ · public	24 mi	$38,728	$17,910
Saint Peter's UniversityJersey City, NJ · private nonprofit	25 mi	$18,709	$21,250
Pace UniversityNew York, NY · private nonprofit	27 mi	$48,509	$26,000
St. Joseph's University-New YorkBrooklyn, NY · private nonprofit	28 mi	$41,528	$24,296
Fashion Institute of TechnologyNew York, NY · public	29 mi	$37,663	$18,721

Common questions

The median graduate earns $48,645 one year after graduating and $77,469 five years after. The median across marketing bachelor's programs in New Jersey is $37,781.

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 marketing 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

Marketing bachelor's programs in New Jersey, ranked9 programs by pay and debt Marketing bachelor's programs in the US, ranked471 programs by pay and debt All Rutgers programs, ranked75 programs by pay and debt