Which Massachusetts teacher education program has the lowest debt?

Lesley University reports the lowest median federal debt, $17,918, with first-year pay of $36,897.

How much do teacher education graduates earn in Massachusetts?

The median across 13 Massachusetts teacher education bachelor's programs is $42,216 in the first year after graduating and $50,005 five years after.

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

13 Massachusetts programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 13 of them also report federal debt.

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

13 programs report first-year pay
13 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 Massachusetts teacher education bachelor's program pays its graduates $42,216 in their first year, $261 more than the national median. Assumption University reports the highest first-year pay ($48,641), and Lesley University the lowest median debt ($17,918).

Median first-year pay$42,216National $41,955

Median pay after 5 years$50,005National $46,679

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

Debt-to-earnings61%National 61%

All 13 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	Assumption UniversityWorcester · private nonprofit	$48,641	Not reported	$27,000	56%
2	Stonehill CollegeEaston · private nonprofit	$44,027	Not reported	$26,990	61%
3	Gordon CollegeWenham · private nonprofit	$43,989	$49,985	$26,975	61%
4	Bridgewater StateBridgewater · public	$43,800	$53,967	$27,000	62%
5	Boston CollegeChestnut Hill · private nonprofit	$43,262	$66,826	$18,000	42%
6	Worcester StateWorcester · public	$42,313	$44,840	$22,971	54%
7	Emmanuel CollegeBoston · private nonprofit	$42,216	Not reported	$27,000	64%
8	Fitchburg StateFitchburg · public	$40,780	Not reported	$21,813	53%
9	UMass BostonBoston · public	$38,846	$46,240	$29,000	75%
10	Lesley UniversityCambridge · private nonprofit	$36,897	$54,738	$17,918	49%
11	Boston UniversityBoston · private nonprofit	$35,281	$55,608	$27,000	77%
12	Westfield StateWestfield · public	$35,090	$50,005	$27,000	77%
13	Bay Path UniversityLongmeadow · private nonprofit	$33,330	$44,352	$27,250	82%

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 13 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

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

$94,000

Median pay in Massachusetts. 29,930 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $60,620Top 10%: $118,190

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$95,260

Median pay in Massachusetts. 28,460 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $61,500Top 10%: $122,660

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$89,450

Median pay in Massachusetts. 16,570 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $60,590Top 10%: $107,610

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

$45,890

Median pay in Massachusetts. 18,710 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $35,890Top 10%: $60,440

Common questions

Assumption University in Worcester reports the highest median first-year pay, $48,641. Its median federal debt is $27,000.

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 Massachusetts 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