Baruch College Journalism (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Journalism
  • Public college
  • New York, NY
  • About 48 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Baruch College journalism graduates earn less than graduates of most journalism programs nationally, $22,839 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $13,717 in federal loans, less than at 96% of journalism programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the New York median of $32,456.

First-year earnings$22,8392nd percentile of 170 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$56,533148% more than year one
Median federal debt$13,7173rd lowest of 15 New York programs
Debt-to-earnings60%New York median 71%, national 67%

How it compares

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

Five years out, Baruch College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $4,471 more than the New York median.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York journalism program

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

Baruch CollegeOther New York 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 148% between the first and fifth year.

Baruch College grads, year 1$22,839
Baruch College grads, year 5$56,533
All New York journalism grads, year 5$52,063

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 $145 a month, or 7.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

90% of graduates (36 of 40) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $22,839 salary here buys what about $20,290 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 journalism, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Editors

$101,480

Median pay in New York. 16,800 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $57,910Top 10%: $179,370

Photographers

$60,050

Median pay in New York. 3,650 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $37,890Top 10%: $109,470

Writers and Authors

$76,910

Median pay nationwide. 7,480 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists

$100,770

Median pay in New York. 5,750 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $49,500Top 10%: $327,640

About Baruch College

Journalism ranks 18th of 19 bachelor's programs at Baruch College by first-year earnings. The top three are Management Science ($62,306), Business Economics ($57,909), and Clinical and Counseling Psychology ($57,204).

Other journalism bachelor's programs near New York

Common questions

The median graduate earns $22,839 one year after graduating and $56,533 five years after. The median across journalism bachelor's programs in New York is $32,456.

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 journalism program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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