University of Dayton Business Economics (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Business/Managerial Economics
  • Private nonprofit university
  • Dayton, OH
  • About 33 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

University of Dayton business economics graduates earn about what business economics graduates earn nationally, $55,871 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $24,548 in federal loans, more than at 76% of business economics programs in the country. Several Ohio programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$55,87173rd percentile of 75 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$97,39474% more than year one
Median federal debt$24,5484th lowest of 5 Ohio programs
Debt-to-earnings44%Ohio median 40%, national 42%

How it compares

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

Five years out, University of Dayton graduates earn more than the national figure and about $7,252 more than the Ohio median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio business economics program

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

University of DaytonOther Ohio 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 74% between the first and fifth year.

University of Dayton grads, year 1$55,871
University of Dayton grads, year 5$97,394
All Ohio business economics grads, year 5$90,142

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $260 a month, or 5.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

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 Dayton area are about 7% below the national average, so a $55,871 salary here buys what about $60,275 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 business economics, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Management Analysts

$94,270

Median pay in Ohio. 25,120 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 94,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $61,600Top 10%: $146,740

Financial Risk Specialists

$98,650

Median pay in Ohio. 2,110 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $62,710Top 10%: $163,210

Economists

$120,000

Median pay in Ohio. 140 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $69,770Top 10%: $216,920

Survey Researchers

$57,630

Median pay in Ohio. 320 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 600 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $36,130Top 10%: $112,490

About University of Dayton

Business Economics ranks 12th of 28 bachelor's programs at University of Dayton by first-year earnings. The top three are Chemical Engineering ($79,865), Electrical Engineering ($79,409), and Computer Science ($74,052).

Other business economics bachelor's programs near Dayton

Common questions

The median graduate earns $55,871 one year after graduating and $97,394 five years after. The median across business economics bachelor's programs in Ohio is $59,720.

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 Ohio 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 business economics program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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