How much debt do Trinity College economics graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $21,500, which ranks 2nd lowest of 7 economics bachelor's programs in Connecticut. That works out to about $228 a month over 10 years.

Is a economics degree from Trinity College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 30% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 43%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less.

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

Bachelor's in Economics
Private nonprofit college
Hartford, CT
About 93 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Trinity College economics graduates earn more than graduates of most economics programs nationally, $71,191 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $21,500 in federal loans, close to the national median of $22,717. Two other Connecticut programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$71,19188th percentile of 338 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$123,09673% more than year one

Median federal debt$21,5002nd lowest of 7 Connecticut programs

Debt-to-earnings30%Connecticut median 40%, national 43%

How it compares

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

	Trinity College	Connecticut	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$71,191	$62,732	$51,725
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$123,096	$98,366	$77,760
Median federal debt at graduation	$21,500	$24,125	$22,717
Debt as share of first-year pay	30%	40%	43%
Programs compared		7	338

Five years out, Trinity College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $24,730 more than the Connecticut median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Connecticut economics program

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

Trinity CollegeOther Connecticut 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 73% between the first and fifth year.

Trinity College grads, year 1$71,191

Trinity College grads, year 5$123,096

All Connecticut economics grads, year 5$98,366

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 more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$80,269

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$68,044

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $228 a month, or 3.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (55 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20–39%
Paying down the balance	40–59%
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

Prices in the Hartford area are about 3% above the national average, so a $71,191 salary here buys what about $69,288 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

$80,970

Median pay in Connecticut. 14,800 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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%: $51,710Top 10%: $113,610

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

$77,740

Median pay in Connecticut. 9,930 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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%: $46,280Top 10%: $138,980

Data Scientists

$126,340

Median pay in Connecticut. 1,760 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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%: $75,700Top 10%: $204,680

Social Science Research Assistants

$60,110

Median pay in Connecticut. 50 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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%: $35,860Top 10%: $88,270

About Trinity College

Tuition and fees	$70,770 / year
Average net price after aid	$34,832 / year
Admission rate	29%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	84%
Undergraduate students	2,146

Economics ranks 1st of 9 bachelor's programs at Trinity College by first-year earnings. The top three are Economics ($71,191), Mathematics ($63,076), and Public Policy ($56,902).

Other economics bachelor's programs near Hartford

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Trinity CollegeHartford, CT · private nonprofit		$71,191	$21,500
Central Connecticut StateNew Britain, CT · public	5 mi	$41,910	$25,237
UConnStorrs, CT · public	23 mi	$52,227	$22,907
Quinnipiac UniversityHamden, CT · private nonprofit	25 mi	$48,340	$25,000
Westfield StateWestfield, MA · public	27 mi	$41,085	$25,000
Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · private nonprofit	33 mi	$82,617	$13,250
Connecticut CollegeNew London, CT · private nonprofit	39 mi	$62,732	$25,206
Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA · private nonprofit	40 mi	$71,559	$19,000
Amherst CollegeAmherst, MA · private nonprofit	44 mi	$90,568	$16,662

Common questions

The median graduate earns $71,191 one year after graduating and $123,096 five years after. The median across economics bachelor's programs in Connecticut is $62,732.

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 Connecticut 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 Connecticut, ranked7 programs by pay and debt Economics bachelor's programs in the US, ranked338 programs by pay and debt All Trinity College programs, ranked9 programs by pay and debt