Is a liberal arts and general studies degree from Clayton State worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 119% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%. Compare the cost with other Georgia programs before deciding.

Clayton State Liberal Arts and General Studies (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Clayton State liberal arts and general studies graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $45,202, which ranks 5th lowest of 5 liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Georgia. That works out to about $479 a month over 10 years.

Q: Do Clayton State liberal arts and general studies graduates stay in Georgia?

Most do. 92% (108 of 118) were working in Georgia one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
Public university
Morrow, GA
About 52 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Clayton State liberal arts and general studies graduates earn about what liberal arts and general studies graduates earn nationally, $37,898 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $45,202 in federal loans, more than at 98% of liberal arts and general studies programs in the country. One other Georgia program reports higher pay.

First-year earnings$37,89859th percentile of 395 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$50,62134% more than year one

Median federal debt$45,2025th lowest of 5 Georgia programs

Debt-to-earnings119%Georgia median 119%, national 73%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Georgia and national columns are the medians across all liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Clayton State	Georgia	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$37,898	$34,576	$36,157
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$50,621	$45,948	$48,575
Median federal debt at graduation	$45,202	$39,693	$27,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	119%	119%	73%
Programs compared		5	395

Five years out, Clayton State graduates earn more than the national figure and about $4,674 more than the Georgia median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia liberal arts and general studies program

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

Clayton StateOther Georgia 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 34% between the first and fifth year.

Clayton State grads, year 1$37,898

Clayton State grads, year 5$50,621

All Georgia liberal arts and general studies grads, year 5$45,948

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 $479 a month, or 15.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (188 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	10% or less
Paying down the balance	10% or less
Paused payments (forbearance)	30–39%
In default	10% or less

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, 31 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $15,138.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

92% of graduates (108 of 118) were working in Georgia one year after graduating. Prices in the Atlanta area are about the same as the national average.

About Clayton State

In-state tuition and fees	$5,180 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$16,532 / year
Average net price after aid	$8,365 / year
Admission rate	68%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	40%
Undergraduate students	4,348

Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks 8th of 20 bachelor's programs at Clayton State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($82,714), Computer and Information Science ($61,318), and Computer Science ($56,328).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $37,898 one year after graduating and $50,621 five years after. The median across liberal arts and general studies bachelor's programs in Georgia is $34,576.

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 Georgia 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 liberal arts and general studies 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

Liberal Arts and General Studies bachelor's programs in Georgia, ranked5 programs by pay and debt Liberal Arts and General Studies bachelor's programs in the US, ranked395 programs by pay and debt All Clayton State programs, ranked23 programs by pay and debt