How much debt do Beloit College sociology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 9th lowest of 9 sociology bachelor's programs in Wisconsin. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.

Is a sociology degree from Beloit College worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 75% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%. Compare the cost with other Wisconsin programs before deciding.

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

Bachelor's in Sociology
Private nonprofit college
Beloit, WI
About 24 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Beloit College sociology graduates earn about what sociology graduates earn nationally, $36,222 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several Wisconsin programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$36,22266th percentile of 397 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$43,17919% more than year one

Median federal debt$27,0009th lowest of 9 Wisconsin programs

Debt-to-earnings75%Wisconsin median 72%, national 72%

How it compares

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

	Beloit College	Wisconsin	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$36,222	$35,981	$34,099
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$43,179	$48,752	$50,382
Median federal debt at graduation	$27,000	$25,984	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	75%	72%	72%
Programs compared		9	397

Five years out, Beloit College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $5,573 less than the Wisconsin median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Wisconsin sociology program

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

Beloit CollegeOther Wisconsin 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 19% between the first and fifth year.

Beloit College grads, year 1$36,222

Beloit College grads, year 5$43,179

All Wisconsin sociology grads, year 5$48,752

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 $286 a month, or 9.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Janesville area are about 6% below the national average, so a $36,222 salary here buys what about $38,656 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

$48,090

Median pay in Wisconsin. 110 people work in this job in Wisconsin. 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%: $34,710Top 10%: $71,050

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 Beloit College

Tuition and fees	$60,886 / year
Average net price after aid	$21,526 / year
Admission rate	63%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	71%
Undergraduate students	926

Sociology ranks 2nd of 5 bachelor's programs at Beloit College by first-year earnings. The top three are Business Economics ($54,111), Sociology ($36,222), and Education ($33,493).

Other sociology bachelor's programs near Beloit

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Beloit CollegeBeloit, WI · private nonprofit		$36,222	$27,000
UW-WhitewaterWhitewater, WI · public	27 mi	$36,411	$26,250
Northern Illinois UniversityDekalb, IL · public	42 mi	$35,150	$27,000
UW-MadisonMadison, WI · public	44 mi	$35,889	$17,802

Common questions

The median graduate earns $36,222 one year after graduating and $43,179 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in Wisconsin is $35,981.

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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin, ranked9 programs by pay and debt Sociology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked397 programs by pay and debt All Beloit College programs, ranked5 programs by pay and debt