How much do District of Columbia college graduates earn?

The median bachelor's program in District of Columbia pays its graduates $50,552 in their first year, the median associate's program $52,982, and the median certificate program $51,222.

How much student debt do District of Columbia graduates have?

The median bachelor's program in District of Columbia leaves its graduates with $24,783 in federal debt (national $25,000), the median associate's program $22,368 (national $15,186), and the median certificate program $20,193 (national $10,780).

How many District of Columbia colleges report graduate pay?

11 District of Columbia schools report first-year pay for at least one program, 144 programs in all. 9 of them have at least one program with its own page here.

District of Columbia Colleges and Majors, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

144 programs report first-year pay
9 schools with program pages
7 field rankings

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BEA price parities 2024

The short answer

The median District of Columbia bachelor's program pays its graduates $50,552 in their first year, $10,511 more than the national median. Of the 7 bachelor's fields ranked in District of Columbia, finance pays the most ($81,074) and psychology the least ($24,940). The median bachelor's program leaves its graduates with $24,783 in federal debt, compared with $25,000 nationally.

Median first-year pay, bachelor's$50,552Across 135 programs. National $40,042

Median pay after 5 years, bachelor's$70,574Across 145 programs. National $57,933

Median federal debt, bachelor's$24,783Across 142 programs. National $25,000

Prices compared with the US10% higherBEA price level 109.9, US average 100

Pay and debt by credential

Medians across every District of Columbia program at each credential that reports the figure, next to the national median.

Credential	Programs	Year 1 pay	National	Debt	National
Bachelor's	135	$50,552	$40,042	$24,783	$25,000
Associate's	4	$52,982	$38,507	$22,368	$15,186
Certificate	5	$51,222	$31,106	$20,193	$10,780

Bachelor's fields in District of Columbia, ranked

Each row is one field's median across its District of Columbia bachelor's programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.

#	Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	Finance	5	$81,074	$19,959
2	Nursing (BSN)	6	$80,345	$27,000
3	Accounting	5	$69,151	$25,725
4	Business Administration	7	$57,490	$25,000
5	Political Science	6	$48,985	$24,125
6	Criminal Justice	5	$43,405	$26,000
7	Psychology	6	$24,940	$25,000

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

9 District of Columbia schools

Every District of Columbia school with at least one program page. School names link to the school's page, which ranks all its programs.

School	City	Type	Programs
American University	Washington	Private nonprofit	28
Catholic University of America	Washington	Private nonprofit	12
Gallaudet University	Washington	Private nonprofit	7
George Washington University	Washington	Private nonprofit	31
Georgetown University	Washington	Private nonprofit	27
Howard University	Washington	Private nonprofit	14
Strayer University-District of Columbia	Washington	For-profit	8
Trinity Washington University	Washington	Private nonprofit	7
University of the District of Columbia	Washington	Public	8

"Programs" counts the school's programs that report first-year pay.

Common questions

The median finance bachelor's program in District of Columbia pays its graduates $81,074 in their first year, the most of 7 bachelor's fields ranked here. Nursing is next, at $80,345.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
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 District of Columbia figures when their main campus is in another state.
Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024