City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning at Ball State University

Ball State's urban planning bachelor's lands right at the national median for both starting pay and debt—estimated at $44,146 in first-year earnings against $25,244 in student loans. This 0.57 debt-to-earnings ratio falls comfortably below the 1.0 threshold that signals financial stress, meaning your graduate could theoretically pay off their loans with about seven months of gross income. That's manageable territory for a public affairs field where passion often matters as much as starting salary.

The challenge with planning careers is that government and nonprofit employers—the primary hirers—rarely match private sector wages early on, even as the work itself can be deeply rewarding. Similar programs nationally show consistent earnings in the mid-$40,000s, suggesting this field has a fairly predictable entry point regardless of where you study. For students drawn to shaping communities and land use policy, that trade-off may be worthwhile. For those primarily motivated by financial returns, other majors at Ball State might offer steeper income trajectories.

Since Ball State is the only Indiana institution where these estimates exist for this program, you're evaluating whether planning as a career—not just this school's approach to it—fits your family's financial reality. The debt burden appears reasonable, but the modest starting salary means careful budgeting in those first post-graduation years.