How much debt do Baker College human resources graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $35,821, which ranks 12th lowest of 12 human resources bachelor's programs in Michigan. That works out to about $380 a month over 10 years.

Is a human resources degree from Baker College worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 71% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 53%. Compare the cost with other Michigan programs before deciding.

Baker College Human Resources (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: Do Baker College human resources graduates stay in Michigan?

Most do. 86% (66 of 77) were working in Michigan one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Human Resources Management and Services
Private nonprofit college
Owosso, MI
About 28 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Baker College human resources graduates earn about what human resources graduates earn nationally, $50,383 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $35,821 in federal loans, more than at 86% of human resources programs in the country. Several Michigan programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$50,38350th percentile of 151 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$61,05821% more than year one

Median federal debt$35,82112th lowest of 12 Michigan programs

Debt-to-earnings71%Michigan median 52%, national 53%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Michigan and national columns are the medians across all human resources bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Baker College	Michigan	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$50,383	$50,498	$50,383
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$61,058	$67,244	$65,232
Median federal debt at graduation	$35,821	$26,240	$26,442
Debt as share of first-year pay	71%	52%	53%
Programs compared		12	151

Five years out, Baker College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $6,186 less than the Michigan median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan human resources program

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

Baker CollegeOther Michigan 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 21% between the first and fifth year.

Baker College grads, year 1$50,383

Baker College grads, year 5$61,058

All Michigan human resources grads, year 5$67,244

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $16,031 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$47,303Median debt $36,482

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$63,334Median debt $25,943

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $380 a month, or 9.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (125 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	10% or less
Paying down the balance	20–29%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20–29%
In default	10% or less

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

86% of graduates (66 of 77) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Michigan outside metro areas are about 11% below the national average, so a $50,383 salary here buys what about $56,628 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 human resources, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Human Resources Specialists

$69,520

Median pay in Michigan. 25,520 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 73,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $46,580Top 10%: $110,710

Training and Development Specialists

$64,350

Median pay in Michigan. 10,640 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 11% from 2025 to 2035, with about 46,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $38,550Top 10%: $106,250

Compliance Officers

$77,390

Median pay in Michigan. 9,720 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 32,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $46,290Top 10%: $120,560

Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

$59,440

Median pay in Michigan. 9,170 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 27,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $42,380Top 10%: $89,280

About Baker College

Tuition and fees	$13,000 / year
Average net price after aid	$13,157 / year
Admission rate	82%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	36%
Undergraduate students	3,026

Human Resources ranks 8th of 17 bachelor's programs at Baker College by first-year earnings. The top three are Graphic Communications ($74,387), Nursing ($69,067), and Mechanical Engineering ($68,060).

Other human resources bachelor's programs near Owosso

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Baker CollegeOwosso, MI · private nonprofit		$50,383	$35,821
Michigan StateEast Lansing, MI · public	23 mi	$56,501	$23,475
UM-FlintFlint, MI · public	24 mi	$39,385	$30,500
Central Michigan UniversityMount Pleasant, MI · public	52 mi	$50,612	$27,670
Oakland UniversityRochester Hills, MI · public	53 mi	$51,010	$25,480
University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI · public	54 mi	$82,714	$14,225

Common questions

The median graduate earns $50,383 one year after graduating and $61,058 five years after. The median across human resources bachelor's programs in Michigan is $50,498.

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 Michigan 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 human resources 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

Human Resources bachelor's programs in Michigan, ranked12 programs by pay and debt Human Resources bachelor's programs in the US, ranked151 programs by pay and debt All Baker College programs, ranked32 programs by pay and debt