How much debt do University of Louisville marketing graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $21,384, which ranks the lowest of 7 marketing bachelor's programs in Kentucky. That works out to about $227 a month over 10 years.

Is a marketing degree from University of Louisville worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 45% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 53%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less.

University of Louisville Marketing (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: Do University of Louisville marketing graduates stay in Kentucky?

Most do. 81% (142 of 175) were working in Kentucky one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Marketing
Public university
Louisville, KY
About 126 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

University of Louisville marketing graduates earn about what marketing graduates earn nationally, $47,704 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $21,384 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,250. One other Kentucky program reports higher pay.

First-year earnings$47,70466th percentile of 471 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$70,07947% more than year one

Median federal debt$21,384The lowest of 7 Kentucky programs

Debt-to-earnings45%Kentucky median 50%, national 53%

How it compares

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

	University of Louisville	Kentucky	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$47,704	$45,042	$44,567
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$70,079	$58,688	$64,125
Median federal debt at graduation	$21,384	$23,250	$24,250
Debt as share of first-year pay	45%	50%	53%
Programs compared		7	471

Five years out, University of Louisville graduates earn more than the national figure and about $11,391 more than the Kentucky median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Kentucky marketing program

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

University of LouisvilleOther Kentucky 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 47% between the first and fifth year.

University of Louisville grads, year 1$47,704

University of Louisville grads, year 5$70,079

All Kentucky marketing grads, year 5$58,688

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 about the same in their first year as other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $22,830 against $20,500.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$47,151Median debt $22,830

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$48,589Median debt $20,500

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $227 a month, or 5.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (127 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	10–19%
Paying down the balance	30–39%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20–29%
In default	10% 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, 37 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $31,867.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

81% of graduates (142 of 175) were working in Kentucky one year after graduating. Prices in the Louisville area are about 7% below the national average, so a $47,704 salary here buys what about $51,254 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 marketing, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

$61,480

Median pay in Kentucky. 6,290 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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%: $37,970Top 10%: $103,300

Sales Managers

$128,650

Median pay in Kentucky. 6,650 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 47,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $67,690Top 10%: $236,990

Marketing Managers

$128,930

Median pay in Kentucky. 1,930 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 34,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $77,340Top 10%: $204,550

Web and Digital Interface Designers

$77,000

Median pay in Kentucky. 590 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $52,750Top 10%: $121,520

About University of Louisville

In-state tuition and fees	$13,136 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$29,482 / year
Average net price after aid	$17,988 / year
Admission rate	79%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	61%
Undergraduate students	14,727

Marketing ranks 15th of 34 bachelor's programs at University of Louisville by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($77,732), Industrial Engineering ($74,163), and Computer Engineering ($72,710).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $47,704 one year after graduating and $70,079 five years after. The median across marketing bachelor's programs in Kentucky is $45,042.

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 Kentucky 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 marketing 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

Marketing bachelor's programs in Kentucky, ranked7 programs by pay and debt Marketing bachelor's programs in the US, ranked471 programs by pay and debt All University of Louisville programs, ranked34 programs by pay and debt