Bluffton University Human Resources (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Human Resources Management and Services
- Private nonprofit university
- Bluffton, OH
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Bluffton University human resources graduates earn more than graduates of most human resources programs nationally, $55,253 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $35,001 in federal loans, more than at 85% of human resources programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying human resources degrees in Ohio.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Ohio and national columns are the medians across all human resources bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Bluffton University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $17,710 less than the Ohio median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio human resources program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Ohio 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 falls about 18% 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 $371 a month, or 8.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
92% of graduates (22 of 24) were working in Ohio one year after graduating. Prices in the Lima area are about 10% below the national average, so a $55,253 salary here buys what about $61,619 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
$70,180Median pay in Ohio. 33,500 people work in this job in Ohio. 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.
Training and Development Specialists
$64,780Median pay in Ohio. 17,690 people work in this job in Ohio. 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.
Compliance Officers
$75,030Median pay in Ohio. 11,240 people work in this job in Ohio. 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.
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors
$61,760Median pay in Ohio. 13,250 people work in this job in Ohio. 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.
About Bluffton University
Human Resources ranks 1st of 3 bachelor's programs at Bluffton University by first-year earnings. The others are Business Administration ($41,608) and Kinesiology and Exercise Science ($28,602).
Other human resources bachelor's programs near Bluffton
Common questions
The median graduate earns $55,253 one year after graduating and $45,549 five years after. The median across human resources bachelor's programs in Ohio is $47,941.
The median federal loan balance is $35,001, which ranks 12th lowest of 14 human resources bachelor's programs in Ohio. That works out to about $371 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 63% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 53%. Compare the cost with other Ohio programs before deciding.
Most do. 92% (22 of 24) were working in Ohio 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 Ohio 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