How much debt do St Olaf College economics graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 7th lowest of 10 economics bachelor's programs in Minnesota. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.

Is a economics degree from St Olaf College worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 48% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 43%. Compare the cost with other Minnesota programs before deciding.

St Olaf College Economics (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: Do St Olaf College economics graduates stay in Minnesota?

Most do. 73% (57 of 78) were working in Minnesota one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Economics
Private nonprofit college
Northfield, MN
About 75 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

St Olaf College economics graduates earn about what economics graduates earn nationally, $56,238 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, more than at 85% of economics programs in the country. Several Minnesota programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$56,23867th percentile of 338 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$81,48345% more than year one

Median federal debt$27,0007th lowest of 10 Minnesota programs

Debt-to-earnings48%Minnesota median 47%, national 43%

How it compares

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

	St Olaf College	Minnesota	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$56,238	$56,570	$51,725
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$81,483	$81,179	$77,760
Median federal debt at graduation	$27,000	$24,600	$22,717
Debt as share of first-year pay	48%	47%	43%
Programs compared		10	338

Five years out, St Olaf College graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the Minnesota median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Minnesota economics program

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

St Olaf CollegeOther Minnesota 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 45% between the first and fifth year.

St Olaf College grads, year 1$56,238

St Olaf College grads, year 5$81,483

All Minnesota economics grads, year 5$81,179

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 $10,895 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$49,873Median debt $24,000

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$60,768Median debt $27,000

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 6.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (68 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20% or less
Paying down the balance	60–79%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20% or less
In default	20% 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.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

73% of graduates (57 of 78) were working in Minnesota one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Minnesota outside metro areas are about 14% below the national average, so a $56,238 salary here buys what about $65,506 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 economics, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$76,460

Median pay in Minnesota. 16,020 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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%: $49,160Top 10%: $121,220

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

$87,510

Median pay in Minnesota. 21,280 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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%: $50,400Top 10%: $143,180

Data Scientists

$128,800

Median pay in Minnesota. 4,020 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 35% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $65,730Top 10%: $179,640

Social Science Research Assistants

$44,920

Median pay in Minnesota. 300 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $38,080Top 10%: $68,070

About St Olaf College

Tuition and fees	$59,760 / year
Average net price after aid	$23,874 / year
Admission rate	48%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	84%
Undergraduate students	3,093

Economics ranks 4th of 20 bachelor's programs at St Olaf College by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($82,278), Nursing ($76,078), and Mathematics ($58,825).

Other economics bachelor's programs near Northfield

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
St Olaf CollegeNorthfield, MN · private nonprofit		$56,238	$27,000
Carleton CollegeNorthfield, MN · private nonprofit	1 mi	$66,567	$19,500
St Catherine UniversitySaint Paul, MN · private nonprofit	32 mi	$64,916	$30,215
Macalester CollegeSaint Paul, MN · private nonprofit	33 mi	$59,752	$24,000
University of St Thomas (Minnesota)Saint Paul, MN · private nonprofit	33 mi	$60,323	$24,600
Augsburg UniversityMinneapolis, MN · private nonprofit	35 mi	$45,720	$27,000
University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, MN · public	35 mi	$56,902	$21,500
Gustavus Adolphus CollegeSaint Peter, MN · private nonprofit	40 mi	$52,439	$24,474

Common questions

The median graduate earns $56,238 one year after graduating and $81,483 five years after. The median across economics bachelor's programs in Minnesota is $56,570.

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 economics 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

Economics bachelor's programs in Minnesota, ranked10 programs by pay and debt Economics bachelor's programs in the US, ranked338 programs by pay and debt All St Olaf College programs, ranked20 programs by pay and debt