UH Hilo Business Administration (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Business Administration, Management and Operations
- Public university
- Hilo, HI
- About 59 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UH Hilo business administration graduates earn less than graduates of most business administration programs nationally, $36,810 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $18,500 in federal loans, less than at 91% of business administration programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Hawaii median of $39,222.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Hawaii and national columns are the medians across all business administration bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, UH Hilo graduates earn less than the national figure and about $7,800 less than the Hawaii median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Hawaii business administration program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Hawaii medians.
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 30% between the first and fifth year.
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 $196 a month, or 6.4% 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
80% of graduates (41 of 51) were working in Hawaii one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Hawaii outside metro areas are about 6% above the national average, so a $36,810 salary here buys what about $34,604 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 administration, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
General and Operations Managers
$108,180Median pay in Hawaii. 13,380 people work in this job in Hawaii. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 285,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
$63,080Median pay in Hawaii. 10,090 people work in this job in Hawaii. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 127,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers
$55,850Median pay in Hawaii. 6,580 people work in this job in Hawaii. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 113,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Project Management Specialists
$78,000Median pay in Hawaii. 1,560 people work in this job in Hawaii. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 76,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About UH Hilo
Business Administration ranks 4th of 11 bachelor's programs at UH Hilo by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($84,401), Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences ($63,776), and Criminal Justice ($38,528).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $36,810 one year after graduating and $47,959 five years after. The median across business administration bachelor's programs in Hawaii is $39,222.
The median federal loan balance is $18,500, which ranks 3rd lowest of 5 business administration bachelor's programs in Hawaii. That works out to about $196 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 50% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Hawaii programs report higher pay.
Most do. 80% (41 of 51) were working in Hawaii one year after graduating.
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 Hawaii 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 administration 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