Master's · Washington, District of Columbia

Is Economics at American University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 5.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $84,632; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $110,816; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $49,378; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $52k (likely $52k – $52k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $26k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in DC; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.3 years (likely 3.6–9.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$27k (likely −$173k – $113k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $342k (likely $8k – $654k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.