Which Maine teacher education program has the lowest debt?

University of New England reports the lowest median federal debt, $25,142, with first-year pay of $44,396.

How much do teacher education graduates earn in Maine?

The median across 6 Maine teacher education bachelor's programs is $39,740 in the first year after graduating and $42,787 five years after.

How many teacher education bachelor's programs are in Maine?

6 Maine programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 6 of them also report federal debt.

Teacher Education (Bachelor's) Programs in Maine, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

6 programs report first-year pay
6 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Maine teacher education bachelor's program pays its graduates $39,740 in their first year, $2,216 less than the national median. University of New England reports the highest first-year pay ($44,396), and University of New England the lowest median debt ($25,142).

Median first-year pay$39,740National $41,955

Median pay after 5 years$42,787National $46,679

Median federal debt$27,000National $26,075

Debt-to-earnings67%National 61%

All 6 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	University of New EnglandBiddeford · private nonprofit	$44,396	Not reported	$25,142	57%
2	Saint Joseph's College of MaineStandish · private nonprofit	$41,392	Not reported	$27,000	65%
3	Husson UniversityBangor · private nonprofit	$40,485	Not reported	$27,000	67%
4	Thomas CollegeWaterville · private nonprofit	$38,994	Not reported	$27,000	69%
5	University of MaineOrono · public	$38,924	$42,684	$27,000	69%
6	University of Maine at FarmingtonFarmington · public	$38,835	$42,890	$26,094	67%

Debt and first-year pay at every Maine teacher education program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 6 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

University of New England$25,142
University of Maine at Farmington$26,094
Saint Joseph's College of Maine$27,000
Husson University$27,000
Thomas College$27,000

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to teacher education, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education

$62,390

Median pay in Maine. 7,490 people work in this job in Maine. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 87,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $46,570Top 10%: $92,100

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$64,880

Median pay in Maine. 5,540 people work in this job in Maine. 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.

Bottom 10%: $47,520Top 10%: $83,450

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$63,590

Median pay in Maine. 2,780 people work in this job in Maine. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $47,640Top 10%: $80,650

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

$43,890

Median pay in Maine. 1,110 people work in this job in Maine. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 66,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $36,170Top 10%: $60,110

Common questions

University of New England in Biddeford reports the highest median first-year pay, $44,396. Its median federal debt is $25,142.

Teacher Education (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked655 programs by pay and debt

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.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the teacher education bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024