How much student debt do Hawaii graduates have?

The median bachelor's program in Hawaii leaves its graduates with $21,500 in federal debt, the median associate's program $12,000, and the median certificate program $9,979, all lower than the national medians.

How many Hawaii colleges report graduate pay?

16 Hawaii schools report first-year pay for at least one program, 98 programs in all. 11 of them have at least one program with its own page here.

Hawaii Colleges and Majors, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

98 programs report first-year pay
11 schools with program pages
2 field rankings

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BEA price parities 2024

The short answer

The median Hawaii bachelor's program pays its graduates $35,373 in their first year, $4,669 less than the national median. Business administration is the only bachelor's field ranked in Hawaii, with a median of $39,222. The median bachelor's program leaves its graduates with $21,500 in federal debt, compared with $25,000 nationally.

Median first-year pay, bachelor's$35,373Across 73 programs. National $40,042

Median pay after 5 years, bachelor's$52,082Across 82 programs. National $57,933

Median federal debt, bachelor's$21,500Across 73 programs. National $25,000

Prices compared with the US10% higherBEA price level 110.0, US average 100

Pay and debt by credential

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

Credential	Programs	Year 1 pay	National	Debt	National
Bachelor's	73	$35,373	$40,042	$21,500	$25,000
Associate's	21	$31,921	$38,507	$12,000	$15,186
Certificate	4	$33,684	$31,106	$9,979	$10,780

One bachelor's field in Hawaii

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

Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Business Administration	6	$39,222	$18,500

One associate's field in Hawaii

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

Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Liberal Arts and General Studies	6	$26,206	$9,387

11 Hawaii schools

Every Hawaii school with at least one program page. School names link to the school's page, which ranks all its programs. Schools with one program link straight to that program.

School	City	Type	Programs
Chaminade University of Honolulu	Honolulu	Private nonprofit	4
Hawaii Community College	Hilo	Public	4
Hawaii Pacific University	Honolulu	Private nonprofit	6
Kapiolani Community College	Honolulu	Public	6
Kauai Community CollegeLiberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's)	Lihue	Public	1
Leeward Community CollegeLiberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's)	Pearl City	Public	1
UH Hilo	Hilo	Public	11
UH Manoa	Honolulu	Public	44
UH West Oahu	Kapolei	Public	6
University of Hawaii Maui College	Kahului	Public	3
Windward Community College	Kaneohe	Public	2

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

Common questions

The median bachelor's program in Hawaii pays its graduates $35,373 in their first year, the median associate's program $31,921, and the median certificate program $33,684.

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 Hawaii 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