How much debt do Barnard College sociology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $15,899, which ranks 9th lowest of 35 sociology bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $169 a month over 10 years.

Is a sociology degree from Barnard College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 33% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%.

Barnard College Sociology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Sociology
Private nonprofit college
New York, NY
About 33 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Barnard College sociology graduates earn more than graduates of most sociology programs nationally, $48,215 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $15,899 in federal loans, less than at 90% of sociology programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying sociology degrees in New York.

First-year earnings$48,21598th percentile of 397 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$75,08656% more than year one

Median federal debt$15,8999th lowest of 35 New York programs

Debt-to-earnings33%New York median 67%, national 72%

How it compares

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

	Barnard College	New York	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$48,215	$33,500	$34,099
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$75,086	$55,539	$50,382
Median federal debt at graduation	$15,899	$24,407	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	33%	67%	72%
Programs compared		38	397

Five years out, Barnard College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $19,547 more than the New York median.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York sociology program

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

Barnard CollegeOther New York 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 56% between the first and fifth year.

Barnard College grads, year 1$48,215

Barnard College grads, year 5$75,086

All New York sociology grads, year 5$55,539

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 $169 a month, or 4.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $48,215 salary here buys what about $42,834 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

$61,210

Median pay in New York. 3,040 people work in this job in New York. 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.

Bottom 10%: $35,520Top 10%: $103,080

Sociologists

$106,030

Median 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 Barnard College

Tuition and fees	$69,888 / year
Average net price after aid	$28,800 / year
Admission rate	9%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	93%
Undergraduate students	3,264

Sociology ranks 4th of 13 bachelor's programs at Barnard College by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($107,434), Economics ($85,860), and Political Science ($57,298).

Other sociology bachelor's programs near New York

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Barnard CollegeNew York, NY · private nonprofit		$48,215	$15,899
Columbia UniversityNew York, NY · private nonprofit	Under 1 mi	$58,541	$31,000
City College of New YorkNew York, NY · public	1 mi	$28,825	$11,000
Hunter CollegeNew York, NY · public	3 mi	$30,246	$10,750
John Jay CollegeNew York, NY · public	3 mi	$40,401	$14,125
Fordham UniversityBronx, NY · private nonprofit	5 mi	$32,511	$25,000
Lehman CollegeBronx, NY · public	6 mi	$42,710	$11,247
NYUNew York, NY · private nonprofit	6 mi	$22,697	$18,875
University of Mount Saint VincentBronx, NY · private nonprofit	8 mi	$31,763	$25,500

Common questions

The median graduate earns $48,215 one year after graduating and $75,086 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in New York is $33,500.

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 New York 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

Sociology bachelor's programs in New York, ranked38 programs by pay and debt Sociology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked397 programs by pay and debt All Barnard College programs, ranked13 programs by pay and debt