Which Minnesota communications program has the lowest debt?

University of Northwestern-St Paul reports the lowest median federal debt, $20,304, with first-year pay of $40,330.

How much do communications graduates earn in Minnesota?

The median across 19 Minnesota communications bachelor's programs is $40,423 in the first year after graduating and $56,649 five years after.

How many communications bachelor's programs are in Minnesota?

19 Minnesota programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 18 of them also report federal debt.

Communications (Bachelor's) Programs in Minnesota, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

19 programs report first-year pay
18 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Communication and Media Studies

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Minnesota communications bachelor's program pays its graduates $40,423 in their first year, $5,849 more than the national median. Gustavus Adolphus College reports the highest first-year pay ($50,074), and University of Northwestern-St Paul the lowest median debt ($20,304).

Median first-year pay$40,423National $34,574

Median pay after 5 years$56,649National $52,771

Median federal debt$26,000National $25,000

Debt-to-earnings63%National 69%

All 19 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	Gustavus Adolphus CollegeSaint Peter · private nonprofit	$50,074	$62,102	$27,000	54%
2	Concordia University-Saint PaulSaint Paul · private nonprofit	$46,327	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
3	Metropolitan State UniversitySaint Paul · public	$46,320	$60,038	$34,933	75%
4	College of Saint BenedictSaint Joseph · private nonprofit	$45,702	$63,773	$27,000	59%
5	University of St Thomas (Minnesota)Saint Paul · private nonprofit	$45,100	Not reported	$27,000	60%
6	St Catherine UniversitySaint Paul · private nonprofit	$44,606	$55,753	$30,750	69%
7	University of Minnesota-CrookstonCrookston · public	$42,458	Not reported	$25,288	60%
8	Concordia College at MoorheadMoorhead · private nonprofit	$42,431	$48,764	$25,250	60%
9	Hamline UniversitySaint Paul · private nonprofit	$42,201	$52,859	$27,000	64%
10	Saint Johns UniversityCollegeville · private nonprofit	$40,423	Not reported	$27,000	67%
11	University of Northwestern-St PaulSaint Paul · private nonprofit	$40,330	Not reported	$20,304	50%
12	Saint Cloud StateSaint Cloud · public	$40,279	$57,161	$25,000	62%
13	Bethel University (Minnesota)Saint Paul · private nonprofit	$40,019	$56,649	$25,937	65%
14	Minnesota State MankatoMankato · public	$39,798	$60,606	$26,000	65%
15	University of Minnesota-DuluthDuluth · public	$39,706	$57,878	$24,182	61%
16	Winona StateWinona · public	$38,197	$54,159	$25,250	66%
17	Augsburg UniversityMinneapolis · private nonprofit	$36,604	$47,726	$27,000	74%
18	Minnesota State MoorheadMoorhead · public	$36,172	$45,103	$23,774	66%
19	Bemidji StateBemidji · public	$34,243	Not reported	$20,875	61%

Concordia University-Saint Paul reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay. One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Minnesota communications program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 18 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Gustavus Adolphus College$50,074
Concordia University-Saint Paul$46,327
Metropolitan State University$46,320
College of Saint Benedict$45,702
University of St Thomas (Minnesota)$45,100

Lowest median debt

University of Northwestern-St Paul$20,304
Bemidji State$20,875
Minnesota State Moorhead$23,774
University of Minnesota-Duluth$24,182
Saint Cloud State$25,000

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

Public Relations Specialists

$68,620

Median pay in Minnesota. 8,260 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 23,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $42,220Top 10%: $111,180

Fundraisers

$76,910

Median pay in Minnesota. 3,190 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $51,130Top 10%: $108,980

Editors

$62,650

Median pay in Minnesota. 1,970 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $43,370Top 10%: $102,270

Public Relations Managers

$139,040

Median pay in Minnesota. 1,230 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $86,110Top 10%: $208,970

Common questions

Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter reports the highest median first-year pay, $50,074. Its median federal debt is $27,000.

Communications (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked577 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 Minnesota rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the communications 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