Francis Marion University Sociology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Sociology
- Public university
- Florence, SC
- About 18 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Francis Marion University sociology graduates earn less than graduates of most sociology programs nationally, $28,982 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $31,500 in federal loans, more than at 93% of sociology programs in the country. Several South Carolina programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The South Carolina and national columns are the medians across all sociology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Francis Marion University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $1,665 less than the South Carolina median.
Debt and first-year pay at every South Carolina sociology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the South Carolina 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 $334 a month, or 13.8% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
95% of graduates (21 of 22) were working in South Carolina one year after graduating. Prices in the Florence area are about 13% below the national average, so a $28,982 salary here buys what about $33,399 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 sociology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Social Science Research Assistants
$64,490Median pay in South Carolina. 500 people work in this job in South Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Sociologists
$106,030Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 200 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Francis Marion University
Sociology ranks 7th of 11 bachelor's programs at Francis Marion University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($70,110), Accounting ($44,648), and Teacher Education ($39,122).
Other sociology bachelor's programs near Florence
Common questions
The median graduate earns $28,982 one year after graduating and $39,185 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in South Carolina is $29,438.
The median federal loan balance is $31,500, which ranks 8th lowest of 9 sociology bachelor's programs in South Carolina. That works out to about $334 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 109% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%. Compare the cost with other South Carolina programs before deciding.
Most do. 95% (21 of 22) were working in South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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 sociology 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