How much debt do Georgia State sociology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $31,000, which ranks 9th lowest of 12 sociology bachelor's programs in Georgia. That works out to about $329 a month over 10 years.

Is a sociology degree from Georgia State worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 107% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%. Compare the cost with other Georgia programs before deciding.

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

Q: Do Georgia State sociology graduates stay in Georgia?

Most do. 88% (169 of 191) were working in Georgia one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Sociology
Public university
Atlanta, GA
About 95 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Georgia State sociology graduates earn less than graduates of most sociology programs nationally, $28,968 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $31,000 in federal loans, more than at 92% of sociology programs in the country. Several Georgia programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$28,96814th percentile of 397 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$43,92752% more than year one

Median federal debt$31,0009th lowest of 12 Georgia programs

Debt-to-earnings107%Georgia median 94%, national 72%

How it compares

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

	Georgia State	Georgia	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$28,968	$30,984	$34,099
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$43,927	$43,748	$50,382
Median federal debt at graduation	$31,000	$28,875	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	107%	94%	72%
Programs compared		12	397

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

Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia sociology 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 52% between the first and fifth year.

Georgia State grads, year 1$28,968

Georgia State grads, year 5$43,927

All Georgia sociology grads, year 5$43,748

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 more in their first year than other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $31,000 against $22,250.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$30,146Median debt $31,000

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$25,786Median debt $22,250

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $329 a month, or 13.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (248 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	5–9%
Paying down the balance	10–14%
Paused payments (forbearance)	35–39%
In default	5% or less

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, 60 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $13,250.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

88% of graduates (169 of 191) 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 sociology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

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

Sociologists

$106,030

Median 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 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

Sociology ranks 27th 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 sociology bachelor's programs near Atlanta

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Georgia StateAtlanta, GA · public		$28,968	$31,000
Morehouse CollegeAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	2 mi	$31,391	$29,500
Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	4 mi	$30,516	$20,500
Clayton StateMorrow, GA · public	11 mi	$29,834	$40,687
Kennesaw StateKennesaw, GA · public	23 mi	$36,212	$34,375
University of West GeorgiaCarrollton, GA · public	43 mi	$34,393	$28,875
University of North GeorgiaDahlonega, GA · public	58 mi	$30,576	$25,000
University of GeorgiaAthens, GA · public	60 mi	$32,530	$20,625

Common questions

The median graduate earns $28,968 one year after graduating and $43,927 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in Georgia is $30,984.

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 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

Sociology bachelor's programs in Georgia, ranked12 programs by pay and debt Sociology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked397 programs by pay and debt All Georgia State programs, ranked46 programs by pay and debt