How much debt do Georgia State psychology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 12th lowest of 28 psychology bachelor's programs in Georgia. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.

Is a psychology degree from Georgia State worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 93% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 78%. Compare the cost with other Georgia programs before deciding.

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

Q: Do Georgia State psychology graduates stay in Georgia?

Most do. 88% (492 of 557) were working in Georgia one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Psychology, General
Public university
Atlanta, GA
About 495 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Georgia State psychology graduates earn about what psychology graduates earn nationally, $28,904 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,624. Several Georgia programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$28,90428th percentile of 875 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$46,93562% more than year one

Median federal debt$27,00012th lowest of 28 Georgia programs

Debt-to-earnings93%Georgia median 97%, national 78%

How it compares

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

	Georgia State	Georgia	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$28,904	$27,983	$31,479
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$46,935	$45,049	$49,019
Median federal debt at graduation	$27,000	$27,000	$25,624
Debt as share of first-year pay	93%	97%	78%
Programs compared		28	875

Five years out, Georgia State graduates earn less than the national figure but about $1,886 more than the Georgia median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia psychology 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 62% between the first and fifth year.

Georgia State grads, year 1$28,904

Georgia State grads, year 5$46,935

All Georgia psychology grads, year 5$45,049

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $1,032 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$28,825Median debt $29,000

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$29,857Median debt $22,925

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 11.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (602 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	2% or less
Paying down the balance	11–12%
Paused payments (forbearance)	29–30%
In default	3–4%

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, 156 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $15,079.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

88% of graduates (492 of 557) 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 psychology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

$96,060

Median pay in Georgia. 1,120 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $45,310Top 10%: $179,850

Social Science Research Assistants

$66,620

Median pay in Georgia. 1,840 people work in this job in Georgia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $40,650Top 10%: $136,810

Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

$193,950

Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 300 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

About Georgia State

In-state tuition and fees	$8,664 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$24,840 / year
Average net price after aid	$15,931 / year
Admission rate	55%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	53%
Undergraduate students	26,623

Psychology ranks 28th 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 psychology bachelor's programs near Atlanta

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Georgia StateAtlanta, GA · public		$28,904	$27,000
Spelman CollegeAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	2 mi	$29,343	$26,000
Clark Atlanta UniversityAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	2 mi	$22,328	$27,000
Morehouse CollegeAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	2 mi	$31,474	$26,000
Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	4 mi	$32,085	$20,500
Agnes Scott CollegeDecatur, GA · private nonprofit	5 mi	$24,277	$27,000
Oglethorpe UniversityAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	9 mi	$25,170	$27,000
Life UniversityMarietta, GA · private nonprofit	14 mi	$34,260	$31,000
Kennesaw StateKennesaw, GA · public	23 mi	$31,450	$26,869

Common questions

The median graduate earns $28,904 one year after graduating and $46,935 five years after. The median across psychology bachelor's programs in Georgia is $27,983.

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 psychology 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

Psychology bachelor's programs in Georgia, ranked28 programs by pay and debt Psychology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked875 programs by pay and debt All Georgia State programs, ranked46 programs by pay and debt