Business and Financial Operations Occupations·SOC 13-2072

Best degree programs for Loan Officers, ranked by enrollment

Q: What degree do you need to become a Loan Officer?

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Finance, General, which awarded 49,441 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Q: Which college majors lead to becoming a Loan Officer?

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Finance and Financial Management Services. Together they graduate about 49,447 people a year.

Q: How much do loan officers earn?

The median is $76,690 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $39,430 at the 10th percentile to $153,180 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Q: Is demand for loan officers growing?

BLS projects a +1.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 20,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

Q: How many schools offer programs for this career?

753 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

Q: What other job titles do loan officers work under?

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Loan Officer, Loan Counselor, Commercial Loan Officer, Financial Aid Counselor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-2072.

2 college programs and 753 schools train Loan Officers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $76,690 median wage, 274,330 U.S. jobs. Federal data.

2 college programs at 753 schools train loan officers, graduating 49,447 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Finance, General. The job pays a median of $76,690 (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Graduates / yr

49,447

from every feeder program

Median annual wage

$76,690

BLS OEWS May 2025

Projected growth

+1.7%

Little or no change

Openings / yr

20,300

new plus replacement

Schools

753

with a feeder program

States with jobs

BLS reports wages

About loan officers

Evaluate, authorize, or recommend approval of commercial, real estate, or credit loans. Advise borrowers on financial status and payment methods. Includes mortgage loan officers and agents, collection analysts, loan servicing officers, loan underwriters, and payday loan officers.

Also calledLoan OfficerLoan CounselorCommercial Loan OfficerFinancial Aid CounselorLenderUnderwriterBank OfficerLoan AdviserLoan AnalystLoan AuditorBranch BankerLoan Approver

Background

Loan officers evaluate, authorize, or recommend approval of loan applications for people and businesses.

Fields of study that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.

Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services

CIP 52.08

Finance and Financial Management Services

49,447graduates / yr

753 schools · 2 specializations · 100.0% of pipeline

Grad earnings $53,572

2 degree programs that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#	Program	Graduates / yr	Share of pipeline	Schools	Grad earnings (1 yr)	Median debt
1	Finance, General CIP 52.0801	49,441	100.0%	753	$53,572	$23,672
2	Credit Management CIP 52.0809	6	0.0%	3	$53,572	$23,672

Top 50 schools by graduates into this job

Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#	School	Graduates / yr	Top feeder program	Grad rate	Net price	Acceptance
1	Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH Public · 1 feeder programs	857	Finance, General	88%	—	61%
2	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY Public · 1 feeder programs	843	Finance, General	72%	—	48%
3	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL Public · 1 feeder programs	735	Finance, General	86%	—	24%
4	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL Public · 1 feeder programs	571	Finance, General	73%	—	77%
5	Florida International University Miami, FL Public · 1 feeder programs	538	Finance, General	74%	—	55%
6	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA Public · 1 feeder programs	538	Finance, General	75%	—	84%
7	University of Georgia Athens, GA Public · 1 feeder programs	536	Finance, General	90%	—	38%
8	Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA Public · 1 feeder programs	512	Finance, General	86%	—	61%
9	Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs	502	Finance, General	84%	—	58%
10	Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH Public · 1 feeder programs	469	Finance, General	80%	—	75%
11	University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC Public · 1 feeder programs	462	Finance, General	79%	—	60%
12	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ Public · 1 feeder programs	460	Finance, General	68%	—	90%
13	University of South Florida Tampa, FL Public · 1 feeder programs	457	Finance, General	77%	—	43%
14	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR Public · 1 feeder programs	456	Finance, General	71%	—	74%
15	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Public · 1 feeder programs	433	Finance, General	89%	—	27%
16	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs	429	Finance, General	86%	$33,106	14%
17	University of Houston Houston, TX Public · 1 feeder programs	427	Finance, General	65%	—	74%
18	Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX Public · 1 feeder programs	422	Finance, General	84%	—	57%
19	Auburn University Auburn, AL Public · 1 feeder programs	407	Finance, General	82%	—	46%
20	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs	405	Finance, General	84%	$26,589	19%
21	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL Public · 1 feeder programs	401	Finance, General	78%	—	40%
22	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Public · 1 feeder programs	390	Finance, General	81%	—	85%
23	University of Massachusetts - Amherst Amherst, MA Public · 1 feeder programs	383	Finance, General	83%	—	60%
24	Bentley University Waltham, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs	382	Finance, General	87%	$31,677	45%
25	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC Public · 1 feeder programs	380	Finance, General	69%	—	80%
26	Clemson University Clemson, SC Public · 1 feeder programs	379	Finance, General	87%	—	38%
27	Georgetown University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs	378	Finance, General	95%	$22,242	13%
28	University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD Public · 1 feeder programs	376	Finance, General	89%	—	45%
29	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX Public · 1 feeder programs	364	Finance, General	69%	—	73%
30	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA Public · 1 feeder programs	356	Finance, General	86%	—	55%
31	The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN Public · 1 feeder programs	353	Finance, General	74%	—	42%
32	Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs	347	Finance, General	43%	$34,565	100%
33	Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL Public · 1 feeder programs	328	Finance, General	63%	—	66%
34	University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI Public · 1 feeder programs	328	Finance, General	90%	—	45%
35	University of Florida Gainesville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs	314	Finance, General	91%	—	24%
36	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs	307	Finance, General	95%	$19,452	11%
37	Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs	306	Finance, General	43%	$21,535	79%
38	Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs	302	Finance, General	86%	$25,823	44%
39	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Public · 1 feeder programs	299	Finance, General	71%	—	93%
40	University of Delaware Newark, DE Public · 1 feeder programs	297	Finance, General	81%	—	71%
41	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN Public · 1 feeder programs	296	Finance, General	85%	—	80%
42	University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH Public · 1 feeder programs	290	Finance, General	75%	—	85%
43	Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN Public · 1 feeder programs	281	Finance, General	83%	—	50%
44	University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 1 feeder programs	278	Finance, General	85%	—	42%
45	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs	271	Finance, General	91%	$21,126	16%
46	The University of Tampa Tampa, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs	271	Finance, General	64%	$33,070	40%
47	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX Public · 1 feeder programs	271	Finance, General	76%	—	65%
48	Iowa State University Ames, IA Public · 1 feeder programs	266	Finance, General	75%	—	89%
49	University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA Public · 1 feeder programs	262	Finance, General	85%	—	39%
50	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs	261	Finance, General	84%	$33,246	63%

What loan officers earn

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual wage

$76,690

Mean annual

$87,790

Median hourly

$36.87/hr

People employed

274,330

What the range looks like

10th pct$39,430Median$76,69090th pct$153,180

Top-paying states

Top-paying metro areas

Elmira, NY

$95,050median

40 jobs

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

$101,570median

10,350 jobs

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

$103,400median

3,420 jobs

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

$103,000median

3,330 jobs

Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT

$96,500median

70 jobs

Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT

$103,850median

560 jobs

Lawrence, KS

$100,480median

80 jobs

Amherst Town-Northampton, MA

$96,540median

90 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34

+1.7%

Little or no change

Openings per year

20,300

new jobs plus replacements

Employment change

5,000

301,400 → 306,500

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

Plus moderate-term on-the-job training

Where the jobs are, state by state

Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.

This occupation state by state: pay, jobs, and schools
State	Median pay	Jobs	Concentration	Schools	Graduates / yr
Texas	$66,370	21,200	0.85×	52	4,576
Florida	$71,090	18,830	1.07×	33	4,152
Ohio	$76,370	9,880	1.01×	37	2,891
New York	$95,710	10,840	0.63×	48	2,406
Pennsylvania	$69,300	8,140	0.76×	49	2,391
Massachusetts	$101,600	4,470	0.70×	27	1,736
Illinois	$79,150	10,890	1.01×	32	1,556
Michigan	$74,470	11,340	1.46×	30	1,536
New Jersey	$92,920	6,200	0.82×	18	1,487
Arizona	$62,160	10,020	1.75×	6	1,452
Georgia	$68,490	9,540	1.11×	15	1,415
Wisconsin	$78,290	4,940	0.95×	23	1,386
Alabama	$66,710	5,050	1.35×	16	1,314
North Carolina	$75,920	10,700	1.23×	18	1,289
South Carolina	$63,220	4,140	1.02×	11	1,165
Indiana	$72,960	4,790	0.85×	22	1,125
Utah	$59,440	3,990	1.30×	10	1,037
Iowa	$83,670	2,840	1.03×	14	1,012
Connecticut	$95,730	2,220	0.74×	14	997
Louisiana	$61,110	2,810	0.82×	12	957
Minnesota	$95,170	6,430	1.24×	26	944
California	$81,770	25,790	0.80×	23	921
Tennessee	$62,800	6,510	1.13×	19	902
Virginia	$78,320	8,790	1.21×	15	871
Kansas	$86,970	3,540	1.40×	16	747
Washington	$80,120	6,040	0.96×	9	743
Maryland	$73,580	3,850	0.79×	7	713
Arkansas	$70,260	2,610	1.14×	12	654
Kentucky	$62,090	3,940	1.12×	11	640
Missouri	$73,660	7,050	1.36×	21	634
District of Columbia	$92,890	370	0.30×	5	633
Oklahoma	$72,990	4,100	1.36×	12	626
Rhode Island	$77,250	1,290	1.45×	8	597
Delawaremoderate	$83,130	1,420	1.66×	4	469
Colorado	$94,520	3,230	0.64×	8	459
Mississippi	$60,260	3,450	1.68×	7	413
New Hampshire	$80,660	1,120	0.93×	5	403
Nebraska	$79,840	2,710	1.50×	7	386
Nevadalimited	$64,500	2,580	0.94×	2	281
Oregon	$94,440	4,220	1.22×	5	280
Idahomoderate	$71,070	2,030	1.34×	3	212
North Dakota	$84,650	1,370	1.81×	5	188
Hawaiilimited	$63,740	980	0.88×	1	143
Maine	$81,900	1,060	0.93×	5	134
West Virginiamoderate	$57,580	1,290	1.04×	3	130
Wyominglimited	$79,620	740	1.50×	1	70
South Dakotamoderate	$79,920	1,820	2.26×	3	58
New Mexicolimited	$62,610	1,140	0.74×	2	35
Montanalimited	$71,570	1,180	1.31×	2	33
Alaskalimited	$72,800	490	0.86×	1	15
Vermontlimited	$88,710	350	0.64×	1	13

Skills and tools

From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.

What they do day to day

Meet with applicants to obtain information for loan applications and to answer questions about the process.
Analyze applicants' financial status, credit, and property evaluations to determine feasibility of granting loans.
Approve loans within specified limits, and refer loan applications outside those limits to management for approval.
Explain to customers the different types of loans and credit options that are available, as well as the terms of those services.
Submit applications to credit analysts for verification and recommendation.
Review loan agreements to ensure that they are complete and accurate according to policy.
Review and update credit and loan files.
Obtain and compile copies of loan applicants' credit histories, corporate financial statements, and other financial information.

Skills

Active Listening4.0
Speaking4.0
Reading Comprehension3.9
Critical Thinking3.8
Writing3.4
Mathematics3.3
Active Learning3.1
Monitoring2.9

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.7
Economics and Accounting3.9
English Language3.8
Mathematics3.7
Sales and Marketing3.5
Law and Government3.3

Abilities

Written Comprehension4.0
Oral Expression4.0
Oral Comprehension4.0
Written Expression3.9
Near Vision3.9
Inductive Reasoning3.8

Core activities

Getting Information4.5
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.5
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships4.3
Processing Information4.3
Analyzing Data or Information4.3
Working with Computers4.2

Tools and technology

hotmarks an O*NET hot technology

Microsoft AccesshotMicrosoft ExcelhotMicrosoft Office softwarehotMicrosoft OutlookhotMicrosoft PowerPointhotMicrosoft WordhotOracle PeopleSofthotSAP softwarehotZoomhot1003 Uniform Residential Loan Application

How to get in

How to become a Loan Officer

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0

Typical entry education: Bachelor's degree
Work experience needed: Less than 5 years
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 2 majors mapped to Loan Officers2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+

52.0801Finance, General
52.0809Credit Management

Related careers

Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.

43-4131

Loan Interviewers and Clerks

$50,020164,790 jobs-2.3%

13-2071

Credit Counselors

$52,23027,770 jobs+3.3%

13-2041

Credit Analysts

$83,51064,390 jobs-4.4%

43-4041

Credit Authorizers, Checkers, and Clerks

$50,08012,030 jobs-6.2%

13-2052

Personal Financial Advisors

$105,070266,800 jobs+9.6%

41-3031

Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents

$78,660489,570 jobs+3.3%

Common questions

What degree do you need to become a Loan Officer?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Finance, General, which awarded 49,441 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Loan Officer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Finance and Financial Management Services. Together they graduate about 49,447 people a year.

How much do loan officers earn?+

The median is $76,690 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $39,430 at the 10th percentile to $153,180 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for loan officers growing?+

BLS projects a +1.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 20,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career?+

753 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do loan officers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Loan Officer, Loan Counselor, Commercial Loan Officer, Financial Aid Counselor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-2072.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025
Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
Official source →
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34
Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
Official source →
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)
Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
Official source →
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohorts
Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Official source →
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest available
Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
Official source →
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018
Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
Official source →
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3
Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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