Majors & ROI · Education

Is an education degree worth the debt?

Teaching has one of the lowest starting salaries this site tracks — which means the amount you borrow matters more here than for almost any other major. It also comes with a real, underused safety net: federal loan forgiveness.

BLS & federal forgiveness program dataFree, no signup
$38,000
Estimated median starting salary, teaching
$38k
Safe total borrowing ceiling under the 1x rule
PSLF
Public Service Loan Forgiveness applies to most public school teachers

The math is tighter here than almost anywhere else

Applying this site's 1x rule — total loans shouldn't exceed expected first-year salary — a $38,000 teaching salary supports roughly $38,000 in total borrowing across all years of school. For context, that's less than half the ceiling a computer science major gets, and it means an expensive private university education degree is genuinely harder to justify on the numbers alone than the same degree from an in-state public school.

This isn't a reason to avoid teaching. It's a reason to be unusually deliberate about where you get the degree. The starting salary for a teacher is largely the same whether the degree came from a $12,000 public program or a $60,000 private one — school districts pay on standardized salary scales tied to degree level and years of experience, not which university's name is on the diploma. That makes teaching one of the clearest cases where an expensive school is very hard to justify financially.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness changes the calculation

Most public school teachers qualify as public-sector employees for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), which forgives remaining federal loan balances after 120 qualifying monthly payments (10 years) on an income-driven repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. This is specific to federal Direct Loans — private loans and Parent PLUS loans (unless consolidated) don't qualify. If you're planning a teaching career at a public school, staying within federal loan limits rather than turning to private loans isn't just about the interest rate — it's what keeps PSLF eligibility on the table.

State-specific teacher loan forgiveness and incentive programs

Many states run their own loan forgiveness or repayment assistance programs for teachers, especially in high-need subject areas (math, science, special education) or high-need schools. These vary significantly by state and change over time — check your specific state's department of education site before assuming a program applies to you.

Run your specific education program's numbers — sticker price, your income bracket, and this $38,000 starting salary — through the full calculator.

Calculate my real education degree cost →

Frequently asked questions

Does a master's degree in education raise teaching salary enough to justify the debt?
Many school districts do pay more on the salary scale for a master's degree, and many teachers pursue one later in their careers — often with tuition assistance or after building some savings. Borrowing heavily for a master's degree immediately after a bachelor's, before you know your district's specific salary scale, is a harder case to make.
Should I take out private loans for an education degree?
Generally, be cautious. Private loans don't qualify for PSLF or income-driven repayment, and given how tight the loan-to-salary math already is for teaching, losing access to those safety nets is a bigger deal here than in higher-paying fields.
Is teaching in a high-need subject or school worth it financially?
Often yes — many districts offer salary stipends for hard-to-staff subjects (math, science, special education) or schools, on top of possible state loan forgiveness programs targeting the same shortage areas. Worth researching specifically in the state and district you plan to teach in.