BMCC Communications (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Communication and Media Studies
- Public college
- New York, NY
- About 45 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
BMCC communications graduates earn about what communications graduates earn nationally, $26,437 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $8,643 in federal loans, less than at 80% of communications programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying communications 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 communications associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, BMCC graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the New York median.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York communications 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 35% between the first and fifth year.
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 $92 a month, or 4.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
85% of graduates (41 of 48) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $26,437 salary here buys what about $23,486 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 communications, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Public Relations Specialists
$81,250Median pay in New York. 28,250 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 23,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Fundraisers
$80,540Median pay in New York. 11,600 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Editors
$101,480Median 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.
Public Relations Managers
$180,880Median pay in New York. 7,710 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
About BMCC
Communications ranks 9th of 21 associate's programs at BMCC by first-year earnings. The top three are Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($100,611), Nursing ($86,295), and Community Organization and Advocacy ($33,854).
Other communications associate's programs near New York
Common questions
The median graduate earns $26,437 one year after graduating and $35,617 five years after. The median across communications associate's programs in New York is $26,780.
The median federal loan balance is $8,643, which ranks 2nd lowest of 6 communications associate's programs in New York. That works out to about $92 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 33% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 39%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several New York programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 85% (41 of 48) 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 communications 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