Bemidji State Biology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biology, General
- Public university
- Bemidji, MN
- About 44 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Bemidji State biology graduates earn more than graduates of most biology programs nationally, $37,469 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,494 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several Minnesota programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Minnesota and national columns are the medians across all biology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Bemidji State graduates earn about the national figure but about $8,071 less than the Minnesota median. Several Minnesota programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Minnesota biology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Minnesota 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 57% 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 $270 a month, or 8.6% 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
77% of graduates (27 of 35) were working in Minnesota one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Minnesota outside metro areas are about 14% below the national average, so a $37,469 salary here buys what about $43,644 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 biology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$76,460Median pay in Minnesota. 16,020 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
$89,950Median pay in Minnesota. 6,760 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Natural Sciences Managers
$136,450Median pay in Minnesota. 1,530 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Biological Technicians
$48,130Median pay in Minnesota. 1,400 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Bemidji State
Biology ranks 11th of 16 bachelor's programs at Bemidji State by first-year earnings. The top three are Engineering Technology ($85,830), Nursing ($77,639), and Accounting ($58,446).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $37,469 one year after graduating and $58,785 five years after. The median across biology bachelor's programs in Minnesota is $35,984.
The median federal loan balance is $25,494, which ranks 12th lowest of 25 biology bachelor's programs in Minnesota. That works out to about $270 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 68% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 75%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Minnesota programs report higher pay.
Most do. 77% (27 of 35) were working in Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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 biology 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