Accounting at Suffolk University

Suffolk's accounting graduates start strong nationally but lag behind their Massachusetts peers—a gap worth understanding given Boston's competitive market. That $59,704 first-year salary beats the national median by over $6,000 and ranks in the 72nd percentile nationwide, but it falls roughly $5,600 short of the typical Massachusetts accounting graduate. Among the state's 26 programs, Suffolk lands squarely in the middle at the 40th percentile, trailing not just elite schools like Boston College but also public UMass-Amherst.

The financial structure itself looks solid: $27,000 in debt (below national averages) yields a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.45, meaning graduates owe less than half their first-year salary. Four-year earnings climb 13% to $67,173, suggesting steady early-career progression. For an 85%-acceptance-rate school, these are respectable outcomes that won't burden graduates with unmanageable debt.

The real question is opportunity cost. If your child can access one of Massachusetts' stronger accounting programs—especially UMass with its public tuition—they might capture an extra $8,000-15,000 annually in those crucial early years. But if Suffolk's urban campus and practical business focus align with your student's needs, the combination of manageable debt and solid national performance makes this a workable path into accounting, just not Boston's most lucrative one.