How much debt do Youngstown State mechanical engineering graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $24,817, which ranks 4th lowest of 14 mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in Ohio. That works out to about $263 a month over 10 years.

Is a mechanical engineering degree from Youngstown State worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 36% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 35%. Compare the cost with other Ohio programs before deciding.

Do Youngstown State mechanical engineering graduates stay in Ohio?

Most do. 68% (52 of 77) were working in Ohio one year after graduating.

Youngstown State Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
Public university
Youngstown, OH
About 53 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Youngstown State mechanical engineering graduates earn about what mechanical engineering graduates earn nationally, $68,061 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,817 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,730. Several Ohio programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$68,06132nd percentile of 302 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$83,60123% more than year one

Median federal debt$24,8174th lowest of 14 Ohio programs

Debt-to-earnings36%Ohio median 36%, national 35%

How it compares

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

	Youngstown State	Ohio	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$68,061	$71,273	$70,725
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$83,601	$87,824	$91,554
Median federal debt at graduation	$24,817	$25,000	$24,730
Debt as share of first-year pay	36%	36%	35%
Programs compared		14	302

Five years out, Youngstown State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,223 less than the Ohio median. Several Ohio programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.

Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio mechanical engineering program

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

Youngstown StateOther 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 23% between the first and fifth year.

Youngstown State grads, year 1$68,061

Youngstown State grads, year 5$83,601

All Ohio mechanical engineering grads, year 5$87,824

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 slightly more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$70,247Median debt $25,000

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$65,543Median debt $24,441

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $263 a month, or 4.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (54 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20% or less
Paying down the balance	40–59%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20% or less
In default	20% 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, 20 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $16,002.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

68% of graduates (52 of 77) were working in Ohio one year after graduating. Prices in the Youngstown area are about 13% below the national average, so a $68,061 salary here buys what about $77,878 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 mechanical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Mechanical Engineers

$99,100

Median pay in Ohio. 14,390 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $69,160Top 10%: $138,020

Cost Estimators

$77,730

Median pay in Ohio. 8,100 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $48,750Top 10%: $124,990

Architectural and Engineering Managers

$166,870

Median pay in Ohio. 9,690 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $117,640Top 10%: $220,990

Aerospace Engineers

$138,440

Median pay in Ohio. 3,710 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $82,830Top 10%: $201,670

About Youngstown State

In-state tuition and fees	$11,113 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$11,473 / year
Average net price after aid	$12,767 / year
Admission rate	84%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	50%
Undergraduate students	7,961

Mechanical Engineering ranks 4th of 36 bachelor's programs at Youngstown State by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($74,799), Chemical Engineering ($69,609), and Industrial Engineering ($69,202).

Other mechanical engineering bachelor's programs near Youngstown

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Youngstown StateYoungstown, OH · public		$68,061	$24,817
University of Mount UnionAlliance, OH · private nonprofit	28 mi	$71,097	$27,000
University of AkronAkron, OH · public	45 mi	$71,448	$25,125
Case WesternCleveland, OH · private nonprofit	57 mi	$76,736	$24,855
University of PittsburghPittsburgh, PA · public	58 mi	$71,406	$27,000
Carnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh, PA · private nonprofit	59 mi	$76,523	$22,777
Cleveland StateCleveland, OH · public	60 mi	$65,531	$25,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $68,061 one year after graduating and $83,601 five years after. The median across mechanical engineering bachelor's programs in Ohio is $71,273.

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 mechanical engineering 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

Mechanical Engineering bachelor's programs in Ohio, ranked14 programs by pay and debt Mechanical Engineering bachelor's programs in the US, ranked302 programs by pay and debt All Youngstown State programs, ranked36 programs by pay and debt