Henderson State Business (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Business/Commerce, General
- Public university
- Arkadelphia, AR
- About 49 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Henderson State business graduates earn less than graduates of most business programs nationally, $36,606 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $19,500 in federal loans, less than at 91% of business programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Arkansas median of $42,892.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Arkansas and national columns are the medians across all business bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Arkansas business program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Arkansas medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $207 a month, or 6.8% 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
75% of graduates (44 of 59) were working in Arkansas one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Arkansas outside metro areas are about 17% below the national average, so a $36,606 salary here buys what about $44,129 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 business, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
General and Operations Managers
$74,050Median pay in Arkansas. 34,570 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 285,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Project Management Specialists
$77,170Median pay in Arkansas. 5,510 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 76,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Management Analysts
$72,950Median pay in Arkansas. 6,250 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 94,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Sales Managers
$108,330Median pay in Arkansas. 3,710 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 47,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
About Henderson State
Business ranks 3rd of 8 bachelor's programs at Henderson State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($72,326), Subject-Area Teacher Education ($38,106), and Business ($36,606).
Other business bachelor's programs near Arkadelphia
Common questions
The median graduate earns $36,606 one year after graduating. The median across business bachelor's programs in Arkansas is $42,892.
The median federal loan balance is $19,500, which ranks the lowest of 5 business bachelor's programs in Arkansas. That works out to about $207 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 53% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 54%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Arkansas programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 75% (44 of 59) were working in Arkansas 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 Arkansas 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 business 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