Economics at Whitworth University

Whitworth's economics graduates earn $63,134 in their first year—roughly $17,000 more than the typical Washington economics grad and nearly $10,000 above the national median. This positions the program in the 80th percentile statewide, outperforming larger public universities like Western Washington and even selective liberal arts colleges like Whitman. For a school with an 87% admission rate, these outcomes are genuinely impressive.

The estimated debt of $24,266, derived from similar private programs in Washington, translates to a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.38. That's manageable territory: graduates would need to allocate roughly 6-7% of their gross income toward standard loan repayment. While we can't know this school's exact debt burden without more graduate data, peer institutions suggest borrowing stays reasonable even at private tuition rates.

The main uncertainty is sample size—the DOE suppressed actual debt figures because too few economics majors graduated in the measurement period. That could mean the program is small but effective, or it could mean outcomes vary more than the single earnings figure suggests. Still, when first-year pay exceeds debt by nearly 2.6 times and beats most state competitors, the fundamentals look solid. Parents should verify current class sizes and career support, but the earnings performance speaks clearly.