Johnson C Smith University Business Administration (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Business Administration, Management and Operations
- Private nonprofit university
- Charlotte, NC
- About 37 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Johnson C Smith University business administration graduates earn less than graduates of most business administration programs nationally, $37,906 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $37,038 in federal loans, more than at 94% of business administration programs in the country. Several North Carolina programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The North Carolina and national columns are the medians across all business administration bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Johnson C Smith University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $7,366 less than the North Carolina median.
Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina business administration program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the North Carolina 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 26% 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 $393 a month, or 12.4% 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, 36 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $24,902.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
70% of graduates (52 of 74) were working in North Carolina one year after graduating. Prices in the Charlotte area are about 3% below the national average, so a $37,906 salary here buys what about $38,939 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 administration, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
General and Operations Managers
$101,950Median pay in North Carolina. 63,740 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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.
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
$62,340Median pay in North Carolina. 35,830 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 127,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers
$47,760Median pay in North Carolina. 39,890 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 113,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Project Management Specialists
$100,820Median pay in North Carolina. 36,200 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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.
About Johnson C Smith University
Business Administration ranks 1st of 7 bachelor's programs at Johnson C Smith University by first-year earnings. The top three are Business Administration ($37,906), Liberal Arts and General Studies ($33,847), and Criminology ($32,751).
Other business administration bachelor's programs near Charlotte
Common questions
The median graduate earns $37,906 one year after graduating and $47,745 five years after. The median across business administration bachelor's programs in North Carolina is $43,451.
The median federal loan balance is $37,038, which ranks 36th lowest of 36 business administration bachelor's programs in North Carolina. That works out to about $393 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 98% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%. Compare the cost with other North Carolina programs before deciding.
Most do. 70% (52 of 74) were working in North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 administration 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