Adams State Sociology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Sociology
- Public university
- Alamosa, CO
- About 27 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release ยท BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Adams State sociology graduates earn more than graduates of most sociology programs nationally, $46,948 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $29,441 in federal loans, more than at 89% of sociology programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying sociology degrees in Colorado.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Colorado and national columns are the medians across all sociology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Colorado sociology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Colorado medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $312 a month, or 8.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
86% of graduates (19 of 22) were working in Colorado one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Colorado outside metro areas are about 2% below the national average, so a $46,948 salary here buys what about $48,149 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to sociology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Social Science Research Assistants
$50,430Median pay in Colorado. 100 people work in this job in Colorado. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Sociologists
$106,030Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 200 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Adams State
Sociology ranks 2nd of 6 bachelor's programs at Adams State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($70,926), Sociology ($46,948), and Business ($40,181).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $46,948 one year after graduating. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in Colorado is $37,674.
The median federal loan balance is $29,441, which ranks 8th lowest of 9 sociology bachelor's programs in Colorado. That works out to about $312 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 63% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%.
Most do. 86% (19 of 22) were working in Colorado one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Colorado comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the sociology program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024