Economics at St. Thomas University

An economics degree from St. Thomas University comes with an estimated debt load of $26,000—higher than both the Florida median ($21,500) and the national median ($22,816) for economics programs. When stacked against estimated first-year earnings of around $47,300 (based on comparable Florida programs), that produces a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.55, meaning graduates would owe roughly half their first year's salary. This isn't catastrophic, but it's also not the financial cushion many parents hope for from an economics degree.

The earnings picture itself is ambiguous. Similar economics programs across Florida cluster tightly around $47,000-$48,000 in first-year earnings, putting this estimate right in line with state norms but below the national median of $51,722. Florida's economics graduates generally earn less than their peers nationwide, and St. Thomas's open-admission model (99% acceptance rate) suggests it may serve students who face barriers at more selective institutions. That context matters when evaluating whether this program can deliver competitive outcomes.

The bottom line: You're looking at roughly median debt for above-median cost at a school where we simply don't have its own graduates' outcomes to evaluate. If your child is committed to economics and St. Thomas offers the support they need, the estimated numbers aren't alarming—but they also don't suggest this program will outperform similar options at Florida's public universities, where reported data shows comparable earnings with less debt.