Business/Managerial Economics at University of North Carolina at Greensboro

UNCG's business economics program lands graduates right at the state median for earnings—$43,790 versus $43,808 statewide—but nearly $10,000 below the national figure. With only five North Carolina schools offering this degree, the 40th percentile ranking essentially means this is a middle-of-the-road option in-state, trailing NC State significantly but matching UNC Charlotte's outcomes. The small sample size (under 30 graduates) makes it harder to know if this pattern will hold, but the consistency with the state median suggests these numbers aren't flukes.

The debt picture offers some relief: at $20,930, graduates borrow about $2,300 less than the state median and carry a manageable 0.48 debt-to-earnings ratio. For a school serving a substantial population of Pell grant recipients (47%), keeping debt below $21,000 matters. Your child would owe roughly six months' salary upon graduation—not trivial, but far from crushing.

The central question is whether saving a few thousand in debt justifies earning $17,000 less annually than peers at NC State. Over a decade, that earnings gap compounds significantly. If your child is NC State material (UNCG's 90% admission rate versus NC State's selectivity), the Raleigh campus appears worth pursuing. If UNCG represents a realistic admission target and the alternative is a pricier private school or out-of-state tuition, the modest debt load makes this workable—just understand the earnings ceiling comes with it.