Which North Dakota teacher education program has the lowest debt?

Dickinson State reports the lowest median federal debt, $25,750, with first-year pay of $49,811.

How much do teacher education graduates earn in North Dakota?

The median across 7 North Dakota teacher education bachelor's programs is $45,438 in the first year after graduating and $48,619 five years after.

How many teacher education bachelor's programs are in North Dakota?

7 North Dakota programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 7 of them also report federal debt.

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

7 programs report first-year pay
7 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 North Dakota teacher education bachelor's program pays its graduates $45,438 in their first year, $3,483 more than the national median. Dickinson State reports the highest first-year pay ($49,811), and Dickinson State the lowest median debt ($25,750).

Median first-year pay$45,438National $41,955

Median pay after 5 years$48,619National $46,679

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

Debt-to-earnings59%National 61%

All 7 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	Dickinson StateDickinson · public	$49,811	$50,675	$25,750	52%
2	University of JamestownJamestown · private nonprofit	$49,608	Not reported	$27,000	54%
3	Minot StateMinot · public	$48,425	$47,484	$25,823	53%
4	Mayville StateMayville · public	$45,438	$48,208	$27,000	59%
5	University of MaryBismarck · private nonprofit	$44,806	Not reported	$27,000	60%
6	Valley City StateValley City · public	$44,179	$46,680	$26,000	59%
7	University of North DakotaGrand Forks · public	$42,057	$49,029	$27,000	64%

Debt and first-year pay at every North Dakota teacher education program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 7 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

$60,030

Median pay in North Dakota. 4,430 people work in this job in North Dakota. 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%: $46,530Top 10%: $75,990

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$61,210

Median pay in North Dakota. 3,070 people work in this job in North Dakota. 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%: $47,630Top 10%: $81,310

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$60,100

Median pay in North Dakota. 1,400 people work in this job in North Dakota. 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%: $47,090Top 10%: $79,760

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

$39,720

Median pay in North Dakota. 540 people work in this job in North Dakota. 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%: $25,990Top 10%: $59,560

Common questions

Dickinson State in Dickinson reports the highest median first-year pay, $49,811. Its median federal debt is $25,750.

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 North Dakota 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