How much debt do Rutgers mechanical engineering graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $23,250, which ranks 3rd lowest of 5 mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in New Jersey. That works out to about $246 a month over 10 years.

Is a mechanical engineering degree from Rutgers worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 32% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 35%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 5% or less.

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

Q: Do Rutgers mechanical engineering graduates stay in New Jersey?

Most do. 79% (166 of 210) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
Public university
New Brunswick, NJ
About 182 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Rutgers mechanical engineering graduates earn about what mechanical engineering graduates earn nationally, $71,569 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $23,250 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,730. Two other New Jersey programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$71,56958th percentile of 302 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$94,83733% more than year one

Median federal debt$23,2503rd lowest of 5 New Jersey programs

Debt-to-earnings32%New Jersey median 34%, national 35%

How it compares

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

	Rutgers	New Jersey	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$71,569	$70,122	$70,725
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$94,837	$89,308	$91,554
Median federal debt at graduation	$23,250	$23,250	$24,730
Debt as share of first-year pay	32%	34%	35%
Programs compared		6	302

Five years out, Rutgers graduates earn more than the national figure and about $5,529 more than the New Jersey median.

Debt and first-year pay at every New Jersey mechanical engineering 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 33% between the first and fifth year.

Rutgers grads, year 1$71,569

Rutgers grads, year 5$94,837

All New Jersey mechanical engineering grads, year 5$89,308

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 $3,265 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$69,815Median debt $24,314

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$73,080Median debt $21,500

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $246 a month, or 4.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (243 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	30–34%
Paying down the balance	50–54%
Paused payments (forbearance)	5% or less
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, 39 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $28,008.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

79% of graduates (166 of 210) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating. Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $71,569 salary here buys what about $63,581 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 mechanical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Mechanical Engineers

$112,300

Median pay in New Jersey. 4,180 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $79,160Top 10%: $162,800

Cost Estimators

$80,570

Median pay in New Jersey. 5,240 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $50,390Top 10%: $137,080

Architectural and Engineering Managers

$180,640

Median pay in New Jersey. 4,540 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $129,690Top 10%: $275,950

Aerospace Engineers

$126,430

Median pay in New Jersey. 3,400 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $103,230Top 10%: $163,770

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

Mechanical Engineering ranks 8th 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 mechanical engineering bachelor's programs near New Brunswick

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
RutgersNew Brunswick, NJ · public		$71,569	$23,250
NJITNewark, NJ · public	22 mi	$68,675	$23,334
TCNJEwing, NJ · public	24 mi	$65,761	$22,875
Stevens Institute of TechnologyHoboken, NJ · private nonprofit	28 mi	$77,925	$26,520
NYUNew York, NY · private nonprofit	28 mi	$64,687	$21,140
Columbia UniversityNew York, NY · private nonprofit	33 mi	$72,036	$16,960
City College of New YorkNew York, NY · public	34 mi	$65,905	$13,232
Vaughn College of Aeronautics and TechnologyFlushing, NY · private nonprofit	35 mi	$74,472	$27,000
Manhattan UniversityRiverdale, NY · private nonprofit	39 mi	$70,841	$27,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $71,569 one year after graduating and $94,837 five years after. The median across mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in New Jersey is $70,122.

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 mechanical engineering 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

Mechanical Engineering bachelor's programs in New Jersey, ranked6 programs by pay and debt Mechanical Engineering bachelor's programs in the US, ranked302 programs by pay and debt All Rutgers programs, ranked75 programs by pay and debt