How much debt do Cleveland State music graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $30,000, which ranks 10th lowest of 10 music bachelor's programs in Ohio. That works out to about $318 a month over 10 years.

Is a music degree from Cleveland State worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 91% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 92%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Ohio programs report higher pay.

Do Cleveland State music graduates stay in Ohio?

Most do. 95% (19 of 20) were working in Ohio one year after graduating.

Cleveland State Music (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Music
Public university
Cleveland, OH
About 13 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Cleveland State music graduates earn about what music graduates earn nationally, $32,887 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $30,000 in federal loans, more than at 95% of music programs in the country. Several Ohio programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$32,88772nd percentile of 229 programs nationally

Median federal debt$30,00010th lowest of 10 Ohio programs

Debt-to-earnings91%Ohio median 109%, national 92%

How it compares

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

	Cleveland State	Ohio	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$32,887	$25,212	$25,532
Median federal debt at graduation	$30,000	$27,000	$26,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	91%	109%	92%
Programs compared		10	229

Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio music program

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

Cleveland StateOther Ohio programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $318 a month, or 11.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

95% of graduates (19 of 20) were working in Ohio one year after graduating. Prices in the Cleveland area are about 6% below the national average, so a $32,887 salary here buys what about $35,015 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 music, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$78,800

Median pay in Ohio. 49,540 people work in this job in Ohio. 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.

Bottom 10%: $48,370Top 10%: $103,150

Sound Engineering Technicians

$64,030

Median pay in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $31,200Top 10%: $131,090

Music Directors and Composers

$61,380

Median pay in Ohio. 440 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $40,350Top 10%: $121,270

About Cleveland State

In-state tuition and fees	$12,988 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$18,510 / year
Average net price after aid	$14,764 / year
Admission rate	91%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	51%
Undergraduate students	8,969

Music ranks 28th of 43 bachelor's programs at Cleveland State by first-year earnings. The top three are Chemical Engineering ($69,043), Electrical Engineering ($68,875), and Computer Engineering ($68,852).

Other music bachelor's programs near Cleveland

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Cleveland StateCleveland, OH · public		$32,887	$30,000
Kent StateKent, OH · public	30 mi	$24,340	$28,000
University of AkronAkron, OH · public	31 mi	$36,293	$25,062
Oberlin CollegeOberlin, OH · private nonprofit	32 mi	$17,141	$26,200

Common questions

The median graduate earns $32,887 one year after graduating. The median across music bachelor's programs in Ohio is $25,212.

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 music 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

Music bachelor's programs in Ohio, ranked10 programs by pay and debt Music bachelor's programs in the US, ranked229 programs by pay and debt All Cleveland State programs, ranked43 programs by pay and debt