Appalachian State Hospitality Management (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Hospitality Administration/Management
- Public university
- Boone, NC
- About 30 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Appalachian State hospitality management graduates earn about what hospitality management graduates earn nationally, $33,702 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,323 in federal loans, close to the national median of $23,905. Two other North Carolina programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The North Carolina and national columns are the medians across all hospitality management bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Appalachian State graduates earn more than the national figure and about $6,809 more than the North Carolina median.
Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina hospitality management program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the North Carolina medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 72% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $258 a month, or 9.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
83% of graduates (29 of 35) were working in North Carolina one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of North Carolina outside metro areas are about 12% below the national average, so a $33,702 salary here buys what about $38,120 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 hospitality management, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Food Service Managers
$74,080Median pay in North Carolina. 9,420 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Facilities Managers
$108,130Median pay in North Carolina. 4,810 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners
$54,990Median pay in North Carolina. 4,340 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Tour and Travel Guides
$32,570Median pay in North Carolina. 1,650 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
About Appalachian State
Hospitality Management ranks 29th of 52 bachelor's programs at Appalachian State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($69,420), Computer Science ($68,675), and Construction Management ($59,809).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $33,702 one year after graduating and $57,957 five years after. The median across hospitality management bachelor's programs in North Carolina is $32,827.
The median federal loan balance is $24,323, which ranks 3rd lowest of 6 hospitality management bachelor's programs in North Carolina. That works out to about $258 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 72% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other North Carolina programs before deciding.
Most do. 83% (29 of 35) were working in North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 hospitality management 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