Which New York physics program has the lowest debt?

Cornell University reports the lowest median federal debt, $15,961, with first-year pay of $50,933.

How much do physics graduates earn in New York?

The median across 6 New York physics bachelor's programs is $48,641 in the first year after graduating and $75,559 five years after.

How many physics bachelor's programs are in New York?

6 New York programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

Physics (Bachelor's) Programs in New York, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

6 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Physics

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median New York physics bachelor's program pays its graduates $48,641 in their first year, $267 more than the national median. RPI reports the highest first-year pay ($60,348), and Cornell University the lowest median debt ($15,961).

Median first-year pay$48,641National $48,374

Median pay after 5 years$75,559National $80,500

Median federal debt$20,270National $23,000

Debt-to-earnings49%National 49%

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	RPITroy · private nonprofit	$60,348	$111,815	$20,270	34%
2	Cornell UniversityIthaca · private nonprofit	$50,933	Not reported	$15,961	31%
3	City College of New YorkNew York · public	$48,908	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
4	RITRochester · private nonprofit	$48,374	Not reported	$27,000	56%
5	Stony Brook UniversityStony Brook · public	$44,562	$85,544	$21,683	49%
6	NYUNew York · private nonprofit	$24,802	Not reported	$22,750	92%

City College of New York reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay. 6 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York physics program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

RPI$60,348
Cornell University$50,933
City College of New York$48,908
RIT$48,374
Stony Brook University$44,562

Lowest median debt

Cornell University$15,961
RPI$20,270
Stony Brook University$21,683
NYU$22,750
RIT$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 physics, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$97,070

Median pay in New York. 70,660 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $60,070Top 10%: $136,450

Natural Sciences Managers

$134,680

Median pay in New York. 5,690 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $65,440Top 10%: $291,780

Physicists

$181,970

Median pay in New York. 1,140 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $80,000Top 10%: $292,950

Common questions

RPI in Troy reports the highest median first-year pay, $60,348. Its median federal debt is $20,270.

Physics (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked67 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 New York rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the physics 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