Colleges with Highest Student Debt (2026)

The most expensive school saddles graduates with an average of $84,784 in median debt across programs. These 50 schools produce the highest debt loads in the country.

#	School	Type	Avg Debt	Avg Earnings (1yr)	Grad Rate	Programs
1	Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing private · NY	private · NY	$84,784	$62,000	10000%	1
2	Arizona College of Nursing-Las Vegas private · NV	private · NV	$52,615	$62,000	10000%	1
3	Brookline College-Albuquerque private · NM	private · NM	$51,872	$62,000	10000%	1
4	New York College of Health Professions private · NY	private · NY	$51,854	$62,000	10000%	1
5	Platt College-Aurora private · CO	private · CO	$51,682	$62,000	10000%	1
6	Nightingale College private · UT	private · UT	$51,383	$62,000	10000%	1
7	Arizona College of Nursing-Tempe private · AZ	private · AZ	$50,116	$62,000	10000%	1
8	Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science private · CA	private · CA	$50,087	$59,667	10000%	3
9	Provo College private · UT	private · UT	$49,544	$62,000	10000%	1
10	Pacific College private · CA	private · CA	$48,770	$62,000	10000%	2
11	Florida National University-Main Campus private · FL	private · FL	$48,691	$61,615	10000%	13
12	Beverly Hills Design Institute private · CA	private · CA	$48,665	$42,000	10000%	1
13	Art Academy of Cincinnati private · OH	private · OH	$48,388	$42,000	10000%	4
14	American University of Health Sciences private · CA	private · CA	$48,140	$62,000	10000%	1
15	Bowie State University public · MD	public · MD	$47,370	$54,700	10000%	20
16	Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology private · OK	private · OK	$47,148	$65,000	10000%	1
17	Pontifical College Josephinum private · OH	private · OH	$47,120	$49,667	10000%	3
18	Mercy College of Ohio private · OH	private · OH	$46,685	$60,250	10000%	4
19	Orion Technical College private · IA	private · IA	$46,192	$65,000	10000%	1
20	National University private · CA	private · CA	$46,093	$59,550	10000%	20
21	Wade College private · TX	private · TX	$45,937	$53,500	10000%	2
22	Eagle Gate College-Murray private · UT	private · UT	$45,166	$62,000	10000%	1
23	Chamberlain University-California private · CA	private · CA	$44,858	$62,000	10000%	1
24	California Aeronautical University private · CA	private · CA	$44,776	$55,000	9700%	1
25	Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences private · NY	private · NY	$44,584	$59,200	10000%	5
26	Pacific Lutheran University private · WA	private · WA	$44,185	$54,350	10000%	20
27	Brookline College-Phoenix private · AZ	private · AZ	$44,021	$62,600	10000%	5
28	University of Phoenix-Nevada private · NV	private · NV	$43,993	$70,000	6700%	3
29	Remington College-Dallas Campus private · TX	private · TX	$43,796	$50,000	10000%	1
30	MCPHS University private · MA	private · MA	$43,628	$59,538	10000%	13
31	Northwestern Health Sciences University private · MN	private · MN	$43,558	$57,000	10000%	2
32	Fremont University private · CA	private · CA	$43,428	$63,500	10000%	2
33	Metropolitan College of New York private · NY	private · NY	$43,064	$56,800	10000%	5
34	Union University private · TN	private · TN	$43,024	$50,700	10000%	20
35	Design Institute of San Diego private · CA	private · CA	$42,899	$42,000	10000%	1
36	Southwest University at El Paso private · TX	private · TX	$42,846	$63,000	10000%	3
37	West Coast University-Los Angeles private · CA	private · CA	$42,684	$62,000	10000%	1
38	Norfolk State University public · VA	public · VA	$42,652	$56,700	10000%	20
39	West Coast University-Ontario private · CA	private · CA	$42,640	$62,000	10000%	1
40	Chamberlain University-Virginia private · VA	private · VA	$42,535	$62,000	10000%	1
41	Chamberlain University-Nevada private · NV	private · NV	$42,530	$62,000	10000%	1
42	SAE Institute of Technology-Nashville private · TN	private · TN	$42,484	$48,000	10000%	1
43	Southeastern College-West Palm Beach private · FL	private · FL	$42,473	$62,000	10000%	1
44	West Coast University-Miami private · FL	private · FL	$42,231	$62,000	10000%	1
45	Goddard College private · VT	private · VT	$42,204	$45,600	10000%	5
46	Boston Architectural College private · MA	private · MA	$41,984	$58,000	10000%	3
47	Chamberlain University-Arizona private · AZ	private · AZ	$41,954	$62,000	10000%	1
48	Bethany College private · WV	private · WV	$41,929	$57,150	10000%	20
49	Chamberlain University-Florida private · FL	private · FL	$41,897	$62,000	10000%	1
50	Schiller International University private · FL	private · FL	$41,872	$65,000	10000%	1

Frequently Asked Questions

Higher tuition, longer programs, limited financial aid, and cost of living in expensive metro areas all contribute. Private institutions and graduate-heavy programs tend to produce the most debt.

Not necessarily. Some high-debt schools also produce graduates with very high earnings. Check the ROI rankings to see which schools deliver the best return despite higher costs.

Average debt is the mean of median debt figures across all programs at each school, using Department of Education College Scorecard data. It represents a typical graduate's debt load.