Arkansas State University-Mountain Home Liberal Arts and General Studies (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Associate's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
  • Public university
  • Mountain Home, AR
  • About 89 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Arkansas State University-Mountain Home liberal arts and general studies graduates earn about what liberal arts and general studies graduates earn nationally, $28,907 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $13,750 in federal loans, more than at 77% of liberal arts and general studies programs in the country. Several Arkansas programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$28,90767th percentile of 728 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$36,41326% more than year one
Median federal debt$13,75011th lowest of 15 Arkansas programs
Debt-to-earnings48%Arkansas median 35%, national 38%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Arkansas and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies associate's programs that report the figure.

Five years out, Arkansas State University-Mountain Home graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Arkansas median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Arkansas liberal arts and general studies program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Arkansas medians.

Arkansas State University-Mountain HomeOther Arkansas programs

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 26% between the first and fifth year.

Arkansas State University-Mountain Home grads, year 1$28,907
Arkansas State University-Mountain Home grads, year 5$36,413
All Arkansas liberal arts and general studies grads, year 5$36,270

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 $146 a month, or 6.1% 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

78% of graduates (39 of 50) were working in Arkansas one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Arkansas outside metro areas are about 17% below the national average, so a $28,907 salary here buys what about $34,847 buys in a typical US city.

About Arkansas State University-Mountain Home

Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 3rd of 3 associate's programs at Arkansas State University-Mountain Home by first-year earnings. The others are Nursing ($62,518) and Other Mechanic and Repair Training ($37,759).

Other liberal arts and general studies associate's programs near Mountain Home

Common questions

The median graduate earns $28,907 one year after graduating and $36,413 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies associate's programs in Arkansas is $27,227.

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 Arkansas 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 liberal arts and general studies program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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