How much debt do Walden University accounting graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $55,084, which ranks 22nd lowest of 22 accounting bachelor's programs in Minnesota. That works out to about $584 a month over 10 years.

Is a accounting degree from Walden University worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 103% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 45%. Compare the cost with other Minnesota programs before deciding.

Walden University Accounting (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services
Private for-profit university
Minneapolis, MN
About 4 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Walden University accounting graduates earn about what accounting graduates earn nationally, $53,592 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $55,084 in federal loans, more than at more than 99% of accounting programs in the country. Several Minnesota programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$53,59247th percentile of 636 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$70,04031% more than year one

Median federal debt$55,08422nd lowest of 22 Minnesota programs

Debt-to-earnings103%Minnesota median 44%, national 45%

How it compares

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

	Walden University	Minnesota	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$53,592	$58,497	$54,059
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$70,040	$70,411	$71,308
Median federal debt at graduation	$55,084	$26,978	$24,958
Debt as share of first-year pay	103%	44%	45%
Programs compared		23	636

Five years out, Walden University graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the Minnesota median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Minnesota accounting program

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

Walden UniversityOther 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 31% between the first and fifth year.

Walden University grads, year 1$53,592

Walden University grads, year 5$70,040

All Minnesota accounting grads, year 5$70,411

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 $584 a month, or 13.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Minneapolis area are about 5% above the national average, so a $53,592 salary here buys what about $51,127 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 accounting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Accountants and Auditors

$81,600

Median pay in Minnesota. 30,530 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 115,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $58,280Top 10%: $138,960

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$54,600

Median pay in Minnesota. 26,850 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 144,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.

Bottom 10%: $37,800Top 10%: $73,450

Financial Managers

$163,410

Median pay in Minnesota. 16,680 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 65,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $99,250Top 10%: $277,680

Financial and Investment Analysts

$102,990

Median pay in Minnesota. 7,450 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $65,290Top 10%: $161,580

About Walden University

Tuition and fees	$12,762 / year
Average net price after aid	$33,817 / year
Undergraduate students	9,136

Accounting ranks 4th of 12 bachelor's programs at Walden University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($88,877), Computer and Information Science ($77,690), and Business Administration ($57,220).

Other accounting bachelor's programs near Minneapolis

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Walden UniversityMinneapolis, MN · private for-profit		$53,592	$55,084
Capella UniversityMinneapolis, MN · private for-profit	Under 1 mi	$57,201	$30,795
University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, MN · public	2 mi	$66,591	$22,342
Augsburg UniversityMinneapolis, MN · private nonprofit	2 mi	$64,695	$26,996
University of St Thomas (Minnesota)Saint Paul, MN · private nonprofit	5 mi	$65,573	$25,000
Concordia University-Saint PaulSaint Paul, MN · private nonprofit	6 mi	$61,360	$27,000
University of Northwestern-St PaulSaint Paul, MN · private nonprofit	6 mi	$62,603	$25,874
Metropolitan State UniversitySaint Paul, MN · public	10 mi	$54,137	$32,828
UW-River FallsRiver Falls, WI · public	33 mi	$56,825	$21,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $53,592 one year after graduating and $70,040 five years after. The median across accounting bachelor's programs in Minnesota is $58,497.

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 accounting 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

Accounting bachelor's programs in Minnesota, ranked23 programs by pay and debt Accounting bachelor's programs in the US, ranked636 programs by pay and debt All Walden University programs, ranked12 programs by pay and debt