Economics at Hanover College

Hanover College's economics program faces a significant disadvantage in the Indiana market. Four years out, graduates earn $65,657—trailing the state median for economics majors by nearly $8,000 and landing in just the 25th percentile among Indiana programs. That places them well behind not only Notre Dame ($76,299) but also state flagships like Purdue and IU (both around $59,000), despite Hanover's small liberal arts college premium in tuition.

The growth trajectory offers some reassurance: earnings jump 44% from year one to year four, suggesting graduates develop marketable skills over time. The debt picture is genuinely strong—$26,898 is below both state and national medians, translating to a manageable 0.59 debt-to-earnings ratio in the first year. For a small liberal arts college, keeping debt this reasonable deserves credit.

However, the sample size here is tiny (under 30 graduates), which means these numbers could shift dramatically with just a few data points. If your child is drawn to Hanover's small-college environment and committed to economics, the debt won't be crushing. But purely as an investment in earning power, Indiana's public universities deliver stronger economic outcomes at lower cost—a comparison that becomes harder to justify as state schools increasingly offer smaller class options and honors programs.