Which South Carolina accounting program has the lowest debt?

Clemson University reports the lowest median federal debt, $23,250, with first-year pay of $56,419.

How much do accounting graduates earn in South Carolina?

The median across 8 South Carolina accounting bachelor's programs is $53,340 in the first year after graduating and $72,833 five years after.

How many accounting bachelor's programs are in South Carolina?

8 South Carolina programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

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

8 programs report first-year pay
8 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 South Carolina accounting bachelor's program pays its graduates $53,340 in their first year, $720 less than the national median. Bob Jones University reports the highest first-year pay ($59,332), and Clemson University the lowest median debt ($23,250).

Median first-year pay$53,340National $54,059

Median pay after 5 years$72,833National $71,308

Median federal debt$26,101National $24,958

Debt-to-earnings48%National 45%

All 8 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	Bob Jones UniversityGreenville · private nonprofit	$59,332	$78,114	$23,936	40%
2	University of South CarolinaColumbia · public	$59,283	$84,344	$25,826	44%
3	Clemson UniversityClemson · public	$56,419	$77,473	$23,250	41%
4	Anderson University (South Carolina)Anderson · private nonprofit	$55,127	$67,897	$23,750	43%
5	Wofford CollegeSpartanburg · private nonprofit	$51,552	$77,092	$26,924	52%
6	College of CharlestonCharleston · public	$49,702	$75,550	$26,375	53%
7	Francis Marion UniversityFlorence · public	$44,648	$50,748	$28,375	64%
8	Coastal Carolina UniversityConway · public	$43,812	$66,105	$26,848	61%

Debt and first-year pay at every South Carolina accounting program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Bob Jones University$59,332
University of South Carolina$59,283
Clemson University$56,419
Anderson University (South Carolina)$55,127
Wofford College$51,552

Lowest median debt

Clemson University$23,250
Anderson University (South Carolina)$23,750
Bob Jones University$23,936
University of South Carolina$25,826
College of Charleston$26,375

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

$76,560

Median pay in South Carolina. 15,270 people work in this job in South Carolina. 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%: $50,370Top 10%: $131,220

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$47,940

Median pay in South Carolina. 19,980 people work in this job in South Carolina. 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%: $33,370Top 10%: $68,870

Financial Managers

$136,160

Median pay in South Carolina. 9,020 people work in this job in South Carolina. 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%: $78,930Top 10%: $277,850

Financial and Investment Analysts

$93,670

Median pay in South Carolina. 3,600 people work in this job in South Carolina. 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%: $58,420Top 10%: $157,700

Common questions

Bob Jones University in Greenville reports the highest median first-year pay, $59,332. Its median federal debt is $23,936.

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 South Carolina 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