Georgia State Chemistry (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Chemistry
  • Public university
  • Atlanta, GA
  • About 60 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Georgia State chemistry graduates earn less than graduates of most chemistry programs nationally, $33,836 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,683 in federal loans, more than at 96% of chemistry programs in the country. Several Georgia programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$33,83615th percentile of 189 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$66,68397% more than year one
Median federal debt$27,6837th lowest of 7 Georgia programs
Debt-to-earnings82%Georgia median 62%, national 55%

How it compares

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

Five years out, Georgia State graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the Georgia median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia chemistry program

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

Georgia 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 97% between the first and fifth year.

Georgia State grads, year 1$33,836
Georgia State grads, year 5$66,683
All Georgia chemistry grads, year 5$65,951

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 $293 a month, or 10.4% 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. Separately, 27 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $16,000.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

90% of graduates (70 of 78) were working in Georgia one year after graduating. Prices in the Atlanta area are about the same as the national average.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to chemistry, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$75,480

Median pay in Georgia. 25,730 people work in this job in Georgia. 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%: $49,450Top 10%: $96,820

Data Scientists

$104,340

Median pay in Georgia. 9,260 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 35% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $67,750Top 10%: $170,010

Natural Sciences Managers

$167,220

Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health

$85,710

Median pay in Georgia. 1,750 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $56,470Top 10%: $162,410

About Georgia State

Chemistry ranks 19th of 43 bachelor's programs at Georgia State by first-year earnings. The top three are Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($78,175), Nursing ($78,165), and Computer Science ($66,803).

Other chemistry bachelor's programs near Atlanta

Common questions

The median graduate earns $33,836 one year after graduating and $66,683 five years after. The median across chemistry bachelor's programs in Georgia is $33,836.

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 chemistry 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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