How much debt do Chicago State sociology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $38,087, which ranks 16th lowest of 16 sociology bachelor's programs in Illinois. That works out to about $404 a month over 10 years.

Is a sociology degree from Chicago State worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 89% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%. Compare the cost with other Illinois programs before deciding.

Chicago State Sociology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Sociology
Public university
Chicago, IL
About 12 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Chicago State sociology graduates earn more than graduates of most sociology programs nationally, $42,687 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $38,087 in federal loans, more than at 97% of sociology programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying sociology degrees in Illinois.

First-year earnings$42,68793rd percentile of 397 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$44,6165% more than year one

Median federal debt$38,08716th lowest of 16 Illinois programs

Debt-to-earnings89%Illinois median 74%, national 72%

How it compares

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

	Chicago State	Illinois	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$42,687	$34,769	$34,099
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$44,616	$52,015	$50,382
Median federal debt at graduation	$38,087	$26,157	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	89%	74%	72%
Programs compared		16	397

Five years out, Chicago State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $7,399 less than the Illinois median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois sociology program

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

Chicago StateOther Illinois 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 5% between the first and fifth year.

Chicago State grads, year 1$42,687

Chicago State grads, year 5$44,616

All Illinois sociology grads, year 5$52,015

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 $404 a month, or 11.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $42,687 salary here buys what about $41,206 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

$64,890

Median pay in Illinois. 250 people work in this job in Illinois. 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%: $37,460Top 10%: $116,530

Sociologists

$140,770

Median pay in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 200 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $76,320Top 10%: $229,480

About Chicago State

Tuition and fees	$12,754 / year
Average net price after aid	$12,335 / year
Admission rate	43%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	15%
Undergraduate students	1,384

Sociology ranks 4th of 7 bachelor's programs at Chicago State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($63,869), Liberal Arts and General Studies ($45,762), and Business Administration ($42,882).

Other sociology bachelor's programs near Chicago

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Chicago StateChicago, IL · public		$42,687	$38,087
Saint Xavier UniversityChicago, IL · private nonprofit	5 mi	$35,103	$27,000
UICChicago, IL · public	11 mi	$34,435	$19,315
DePaul UniversityChicago, IL · private nonprofit	11 mi	$33,644	$24,500
Purdue NorthwestHammond, IN · public	12 mi	$35,334	$24,500
Dominican UniversityRiver Forest, IL · private nonprofit	17 mi	$31,657	$27,000
Northeastern Illinois UniversityChicago, IL · public	19 mi	$36,686	$17,457
Loyola ChicagoChicago, IL · private nonprofit	20 mi	$34,004	$22,250
Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IL · private nonprofit	23 mi	$38,402	$14,567

Common questions

The median graduate earns $42,687 one year after graduating and $44,616 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in Illinois is $34,769.

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 Illinois 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 Illinois, ranked16 programs by pay and debt Sociology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked397 programs by pay and debt All Chicago State programs, ranked7 programs by pay and debt