Clarkson University Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering
- Private nonprofit university
- Potsdam, NY
- About 52 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Clarkson University chemical engineering graduates earn about what chemical engineering graduates earn nationally, $75,887 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, more than at 76% of chemical engineering programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying chemical engineering degrees in New York.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all chemical engineering bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Clarkson University graduates earn about the national figure but about $5,297 less than the New York median.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York chemical engineering program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York 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 25% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $5,275 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 4.5% 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. Separately, 20 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $48,192.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
66% of graduates (46 of 70) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of New York outside metro areas are about 8% below the national average, so a $75,887 salary here buys what about $82,834 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 chemical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$175,710Median pay in New York. 8,250 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers
$104,010Median pay in New York. 840 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Chemical Engineers
$129,060Median pay in New York. 540 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Clarkson University
Chemical Engineering ranks 4th of 14 bachelor's programs at Clarkson University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($80,942), Computer Science ($79,744), and Electrical Engineering ($77,940).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $75,887 one year after graduating and $95,129 five years after. The median across chemical engineering bachelor's programs in New York is $72,866.
The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 9th lowest of 11 chemical engineering bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 36% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 32%. Compare the cost with other New York programs before deciding.
Most do. 66% (46 of 70) were working in New York 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 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 chemical engineering 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