Accounting at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Saint Mary's accounting graduates start below Minnesota's median for the field—$54,833 versus $58,472 statewide—which places them in just the 40th percentile among Minnesota programs. That's a notable gap when you consider the top accounting programs in the state launch graduates at $64,000-$66,000. The small sample size (under 30 graduates) means these figures could shift significantly year to year, but the pattern suggests this program struggles to compete with larger Minnesota institutions for starting salaries.

The debt picture offers some reassurance: $27,000 is nearly identical to the state median and creates a manageable 0.49 debt-to-earnings ratio. Graduates aren't overleveraged, and the 14% earnings bump to $62,214 by year four shows reasonable growth. However, even with that improvement, these accountants remain below what many of their peers earned right out of college at schools like St. Thomas or Bethel.

For families prioritizing accounting specifically and considering Minnesota schools, the numbers suggest looking elsewhere unless there are compelling non-financial reasons to choose Saint Mary's. The program's graduates can service their debt, but they're starting several thousand dollars behind—a gap that compounds over a career. With Minnesota offering 31 accounting programs and several delivering substantially stronger outcomes, this shouldn't be your default choice based solely on financial returns.