How much do Oklahoma college graduates earn?

The median bachelor's program in Oklahoma pays its graduates $41,583 in their first year, the median associate's program $40,459, and the median certificate program $29,721.

How much student debt do Oklahoma graduates have?

The median bachelor's program in Oklahoma leaves its graduates with $23,250 in federal debt (national $25,000), the median associate's program $14,336 (national $15,186), and the median certificate program $11,539 (national $10,780).

How many Oklahoma colleges report graduate pay?

71 Oklahoma schools report first-year pay for at least one program, 464 programs in all. 54 of them have at least one program with its own page here.

Oklahoma Colleges and Majors, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

464 programs report first-year pay
54 schools with program pages
21 field rankings

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BEA price parities 2024

The short answer

The median Oklahoma bachelor's program pays its graduates $41,583 in their first year, $1,541 more than the national median. Of the 13 bachelor's fields ranked in Oklahoma, nursing pays the most ($71,438) and biology the least ($30,830). The median bachelor's program leaves its graduates with $23,250 in federal debt, compared with $25,000 nationally.

Median first-year pay, bachelor's$41,583Across 292 programs. National $40,042

Median pay after 5 years, bachelor's$53,647Across 235 programs. National $57,933

Median federal debt, bachelor's$23,250Across 295 programs. National $25,000

Prices compared with the US12% lowerBEA price level 87.8, US average 100

Pay and debt by credential

Medians across every Oklahoma program at each credential that reports the figure, next to the national median.

Credential	Programs	Year 1 pay	National	Debt	National
Bachelor's	292	$41,583	$40,042	$23,250	$25,000
Associate's	87	$40,459	$38,507	$14,336	$15,186
Certificate	85	$29,721	$31,106	$11,539	$10,780

Bachelor's fields in Oklahoma, ranked

Each row is one field's median across its Oklahoma bachelor's programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.

#	Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	Nursing (BSN)	17	$71,438	$27,000
2	Mechanical Engineering	5	$70,220	$21,821
3	Finance	5	$56,916	$22,060
4	Accounting	7	$49,823	$24,125
5	Subject-Area Teacher Education	9	$44,135	$25,500
6	Teacher Education	13	$43,892	$24,750
7	Business Administration	19	$43,762	$25,000
8	Marketing	6	$41,019	$21,750
9	Criminal Justice	7	$39,609	$21,553
10	Liberal Arts and General Studies	11	$37,786	$26,595
11	Psychology	10	$32,313	$21,600
12	Kinesiology and Exercise Science	10	$31,035	$21,579
13	Biology	8	$30,830	$22,000

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

Associate's fields in Oklahoma, ranked

Each row is one field's median across its Oklahoma associate's programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.

#	Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	Nursing (ADN)	13	$68,544	$21,520
2	Diagnostic and Treatment Professions	5	$57,900	$19,137
3	Allied Health and Medical Assisting	7	$43,773	$16,699
4	Business Administration	7	$33,084	$13,250
5	Liberal Arts and General Studies	9	$26,814	$12,000

Certificate fields in Oklahoma, ranked

Each row is one field's median across its Oklahoma certificate programs. Field names link to the full ranking of those programs.

#	Field	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	Diagnostic and Treatment Professions	8	$45,198	$16,562
2	Practical Nursing	15	$44,594	$11,640
3	Cosmetology	15	$15,771	$9,500

54 Oklahoma schools

Every Oklahoma school with at least one program page. School names link to the school's page, which ranks all its programs. Schools with one program link straight to that program.

School	City	Type	Programs
Academy of Hair DesignCosmetology (Certificate)	Oklahoma City	For-profit	1
ATA College (Oklahoma)Diagnostic and Treatment Professions (Certificate)	Tulsa	For-profit	1
Cameron University	Lawton	Public	12
Carl Albert State College	Poteau	Public	7
Central Oklahoma College	Oklahoma City	For-profit	2
Community Care College	Tulsa	Private nonprofit	14
Connors State College	Warner	Public	3
East Central University	Ada	Public	14
Eves College of HairstylingCosmetology (Certificate)	Lawton	For-profit	1
Formations InstituteCosmetology (Certificate)	Enid	For-profit	1
Francis Tuttle Technology Center	Oklahoma City	Public	5
Great Plains Technology CenterPractical Nursing (Certificate)	Lawton	Public	1
Green Country Technology CenterPractical Nursing (Certificate)	Okmulgee	Public	1
Indian Capital Technology Center-Muskogee	Muskogee	Public	6
Jenks Beauty CollegeCosmetology (Certificate)	Jenks	For-profit	1
Kiamichi Technology Center-McAlester	McAlester	Public	5
Langston University	Langston	Public	6
Metro Technology Centers	Oklahoma City	Public	2
Mid-America Christian University	Oklahoma City	Private nonprofit	5
Murray State College	Tishomingo	Public	4
Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College	Miami	Public	4
Northeastern State	Tahlequah	Public	22
Northern Oklahoma College	Tonkawa	Public	3
Northwestern Oklahoma State	Alva	Public	5
Oklahoma Baptist University	Shawnee	Private nonprofit	4
Oklahoma Christian University	Edmond	Private nonprofit	8
Oklahoma City Community College	Oklahoma City	Public	11
Oklahoma City University	Oklahoma City	Private nonprofit	5
Oklahoma Panhandle State	Goodwell	Public	5
Oklahoma State	Stillwater	Public	55
Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology	Okmulgee	Public	12
Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City	Oklahoma City	Public	7
Oklahoma Wesleyan University	Bartlesville	Private nonprofit	3
Oral Roberts University	Tulsa	Private nonprofit	13
Paul Mitchell the School-TulsaCosmetology (Certificate)	Tulsa	For-profit	1
Ponca City Beauty CollegeCosmetology (Certificate)	Ponca City	For-profit	1
Randall UniversityLiberal Arts and General Studies (Bachelor's)	Moore	Private nonprofit	1
Redlands Community College	El Reno	Public	2
Rogers State	Claremore	Public	10
Rose State College	Midwest City	Public	9
Seminole State CollegeLiberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's)	Seminole	Public	1
Shawnee Beauty CollegeCosmetology (Certificate)	Shawnee	For-profit	1
Southeastern Oklahoma State	Durant	Public	10
Southern Nazarene University	Bethany	Private nonprofit	6
Southern School of BeautyCosmetology (Certificate)	Durant	For-profit	1
Southwestern Christian University	Bethany	Private nonprofit	2
Southwestern Oklahoma State	Weatherford	Public	14
Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology (Oklahoma)	Tulsa	For-profit	8
Tulsa Community College	Tulsa	Public	13
Tulsa Technology Center	Tulsa	Public	11
University of Central Oklahoma	Edmond	Public	35
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	Norman	Public	49
University of Tulsa	Tulsa	Private nonprofit	11
Western Oklahoma State College	Altus	Public	2

"Programs" counts the school's programs that report first-year pay.

Common questions

The median nursing bachelor's program in Oklahoma pays its graduates $71,438 in their first year, the most of 13 bachelor's fields ranked here. Mechanical engineering is next, at $70,220.

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.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
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 Oklahoma figures when their main campus is in another state.
Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024