Which Michigan accounting program has the lowest debt?

Siena Heights University reports the lowest median federal debt, $21,493, with first-year pay of $49,361.

How much do accounting graduates earn in Michigan?

The median across 24 Michigan accounting bachelor's programs is $53,042 in the first year after graduating and $68,052 five years after.

How many accounting bachelor's programs are in Michigan?

24 Michigan programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 23 of them also report federal debt.

Accounting (Bachelor's) Programs in Michigan, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

24 programs report first-year pay
23 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Michigan accounting bachelor's program pays its graduates $53,042 in their first year, $1,017 less than the national median. Michigan State reports the highest first-year pay ($65,965), and Siena Heights University the lowest median debt ($21,493).

Median first-year pay$53,042National $54,059

Median pay after 5 years$68,052National $71,308

Median federal debt$24,771National $24,958

Debt-to-earnings46%National 45%

All 24 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	Michigan StateEast Lansing · public	$65,965	$91,024	$23,250	35%
2	Aquinas CollegeGrand Rapids · private nonprofit	$63,311	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
3	Central Michigan UniversityMount Pleasant · public	$62,430	$76,147	$29,000	46%
4	Albion CollegeAlbion · private nonprofit	$62,266	Not reported	$27,000	43%
5	Walsh CollegeTroy · private nonprofit	$61,960	$67,523	$21,587	35%
6	Hope CollegeHolland · private nonprofit	$61,120	$83,017	$27,000	44%
7	Oakland UniversityRochester Hills · public	$59,833	$81,191	$23,500	39%
8	UM-DearbornDearborn · public	$57,833	$75,164	$24,850	43%
9	Spring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor · private nonprofit	$57,710	Not reported	$27,000	47%
10	Eastern Michigan UniversityYpsilanti · public	$57,500	$67,858	$24,771	43%
11	Northern Michigan UniversityMarquette · public	$55,879	$58,837	$24,651	44%
12	Saginaw Valley StateUniversity Center · public	$53,416	$68,052	$25,243	47%
13	Wayne StateDetroit · public	$52,668	$73,718	$21,504	41%
14	Grand Valley StateAllendale · public	$51,186	$73,018	$23,750	46%
15	Davenport UniversityGrand Rapids · private nonprofit	$49,970	$66,484	$27,000	54%
16	Siena Heights UniversityAdrian · private nonprofit	$49,361	$54,038	$21,493	44%
17	Calvin UniversityGrand Rapids · private nonprofit	$48,637	$81,952	$23,250	48%
18	Western Michigan UniversityKalamazoo · public	$47,464	$70,283	$27,000	57%
19	Lake Superior StateSault Ste Marie · public	$47,038	$49,240	$24,301	52%
20	Baker CollegeOwosso · private nonprofit	$46,471	$58,119	$42,556	92%
21	Ferris StateBig Rapids · public	$46,359	$62,273	$25,838	56%
22	UM-FlintFlint · public	$45,553	$65,566	$30,899	68%
23	Northwood UniversityMidland · private nonprofit	$45,217	$71,455	$23,850	53%
24	Cleary UniversityHowell · private nonprofit	$43,665	Not reported	$24,039	55%

Aquinas College reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan accounting program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 23 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Michigan State$65,965
Aquinas College$63,311
Central Michigan University$62,430
Albion College$62,266
Walsh College$61,960

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 accounting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Accountants and Auditors

$78,820

Median pay in Michigan. 41,460 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 115,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $52,620Top 10%: $131,080

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$48,980

Median pay in Michigan. 37,550 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 144,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.

Bottom 10%: $36,250Top 10%: $67,480

Financial Managers

$139,370

Median pay in Michigan. 22,490 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 65,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $80,280Top 10%: $258,480

Financial and Investment Analysts

$95,420

Median pay in Michigan. 7,400 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $63,180Top 10%: $154,230

Common questions

Michigan State in East Lansing reports the highest median first-year pay, $65,965. Its median federal debt is $23,250.

Accounting (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked636 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 Michigan rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the accounting 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