How much do Maine college graduates earn?

The median bachelor's program in Maine pays its graduates $40,692 in their first year, the median associate's program $40,497, and the median certificate program $36,078.

How much student debt do Maine graduates have?

The median bachelor's program in Maine leaves its graduates with $27,000 in federal debt (national $25,000), the median associate's program $15,288 (national $15,186), and the median certificate program $9,555 (national $10,780).

How many Maine colleges report graduate pay?

29 Maine schools report first-year pay for at least one program, 219 programs in all. 20 of them have at least one program with its own page here.

Maine Colleges and Majors, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

219 programs report first-year pay
20 schools with program pages
12 field rankings

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BEA price parities 2024

The short answer

The median Maine bachelor's program pays its graduates $40,692 in their first year, $651 more than the national median. Of the 11 bachelor's fields ranked in Maine, nursing pays the most ($74,114) and psychology the least ($34,123). The median bachelor's program leaves its graduates with $27,000 in federal debt, compared with $25,000 nationally.

Median first-year pay, bachelor's$40,692Across 161 programs. National $40,042

Median pay after 5 years, bachelor's$59,240Across 115 programs. National $57,933

Median federal debt, bachelor's$27,000Across 150 programs. National $25,000

Prices compared with the US3% lowerBEA price level 97.1, US average 100

Pay and debt by credential

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

Credential	Programs	Year 1 pay	National	Debt	National
Bachelor's	161	$40,692	$40,042	$27,000	$25,000
Associate's	44	$40,497	$38,507	$15,288	$15,186
Certificate	14	$36,078	$31,106	$9,555	$10,780

Bachelor's fields in Maine, ranked

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

#	Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	Nursing (BSN)	7	$74,114	$29,000
2	Economics	5	$71,187	$19,500
3	Accounting	5	$48,330	$27,000
4	Business Administration	10	$45,388	$26,960
5	Political Science	5	$41,055	$19,634
6	Teacher Education	6	$39,740	$27,000
7	Liberal Arts and General Studies	5	$36,809	$25,000
8	Kinesiology and Exercise Science	5	$35,341	$27,000
9	Biology	6	$34,470	$26,500
10	Environmental Science and Conservation	5	$34,465	$26,500
11	Psychology	7	$34,123	$26,955

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.

One associate's field in Maine

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

Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Nursing (ADN)	6	$68,277	$25,186

20 Maine schools

Every Maine 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
Bates College	Lewiston	Private nonprofit	8
Bowdoin College	Brunswick	Private nonprofit	7
Central Maine Community College	Auburn	Public	8
Colby College	Waterville	Private nonprofit	8
Eastern Maine Community College	Bangor	Public	4
Husson University	Bangor	Private nonprofit	14
Kennebec Valley Community College	Fairfield	Public	10
Maine College of Health Professions	Lewiston	Private nonprofit	2
Maine Maritime Academy	Castine	Public	5
Northern Maine Community College	Presque Isle	Public	3
Saint Joseph's College of Maine	Standish	Private nonprofit	9
Southern Maine Community College	South Portland	Public	14
Thomas College	Waterville	Private nonprofit	7
University of Maine	Orono	Public	41
University of Maine at Augusta	Augusta	Public	9
University of Maine at Farmington	Farmington	Public	7
University of Maine at Fort KentNursing (BSN)	Fort Kent	Public	1
University of Maine at Presque Isle	Presque Isle	Public	2
University of New England	Biddeford	Private nonprofit	12
University of Southern Maine	Portland	Public	29

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

Common questions

The median nursing bachelor's program in Maine pays its graduates $74,114 in their first year, the most of 11 bachelor's fields ranked here. Economics is next, at $71,187.

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 Maine 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