WashU Economics (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Economics
- Private nonprofit university
- St. Louis, MO
- About 118 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
WashU economics graduates earn more than graduates of most economics programs nationally, $66,325 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $14,110 in federal loans, less than at 89% of economics programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying economics degrees in Missouri.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Missouri and national columns are the medians across all economics bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, WashU graduates earn about the national figure and about $5,394 more than the Missouri median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Missouri economics program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Missouri 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 20% between the first and fifth year.
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 $10,156 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $150 a month, or 2.7% 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 St. Louis area are about 5% below the national average, so a $66,325 salary here buys what about $69,751 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
$59,240Median pay in Missouri. 24,380 people work in this job in Missouri. 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.
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
$70,140Median pay in Missouri. 14,890 people work in this job in Missouri. 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.
Data Scientists
$97,090Median pay in Missouri. 4,730 people work in this job in Missouri. 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.
Social Science Research Assistants
$65,940Median pay in Missouri. 750 people work in this job in Missouri. 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.
About WashU
Economics ranks 9th of 17 bachelor's programs at WashU by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($110,302), Business Economics ($106,701), and Finance ($102,814).
Other economics bachelor's programs near St. Louis
Common questions
The median graduate earns $66,325 one year after graduating and $79,278 five years after. The median across economics bachelor's programs in Missouri is $46,583.
The median federal loan balance is $14,110, which ranks the lowest of 5 economics bachelor's programs in Missouri. That works out to about $150 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 21% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 43%.
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 Missouri 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