Grand Valley State Anthropology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Anthropology
- Public university
- Allendale, MI
- About 19 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Grand Valley State anthropology graduates earn about what anthropology graduates earn nationally, $27,350 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, more than at 83% of anthropology programs in the country. One other Michigan program reports higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Michigan and national columns are the medians across all anthropology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Grand Valley State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,941 less than the Michigan median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan anthropology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Michigan 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 50% 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 $286 a month, or 12.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
76% of graduates (26 of 34) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the Grand Rapids area are about 4% below the national average, so a $27,350 salary here buys what about $28,625 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 anthropology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
$84,310Median pay in Michigan. 2,370 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Forensic Science Technicians
$72,060Median pay nationwide. 650 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Anthropologists and Archeologists
$64,700Median pay in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 800 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Grand Valley State
Anthropology ranks 58th of 62 bachelor's programs at Grand Valley State by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($80,746), Electrical Engineering ($80,732), and Manufacturing Engineering ($76,754).
Other anthropology bachelor's programs near Allendale
Common questions
The median graduate earns $27,350 one year after graduating and $40,889 five years after. The median across anthropology bachelor's programs in Michigan is $26,061.
The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 3rd lowest of 6 anthropology bachelor's programs in Michigan. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 99% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 81%. Compare the cost with other Michigan programs before deciding.
Most do. 76% (26 of 34) were working in Michigan 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 Michigan 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 anthropology 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