Kalamazoo College English (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in English Language and Literature, General
  • Private nonprofit college
  • Kalamazoo, MI
  • About 22 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Kalamazoo College English graduates earn less than graduates of most English programs nationally, $24,329 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,456 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,498. Several Michigan programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$24,32915th percentile of 471 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$48,592100% more than year one
Median federal debt$25,4564th lowest of 11 Michigan programs
Debt-to-earnings105%Michigan median 95%, national 77%

How it compares

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

Five years out, Kalamazoo College graduates earn about the national figure and about $2,836 more than the Michigan median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan English program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Michigan medians.

Kalamazoo CollegeOther Michigan 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 100% between the first and fifth year.

Kalamazoo College grads, year 1$24,329
Kalamazoo College grads, year 5$48,592
All Michigan English grads, year 5$45,756

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 $270 a month, or 13.3% 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

67% of graduates (22 of 33) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the Kalamazoo area are about 5% below the national average, so a $24,329 salary here buys what about $25,653 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 English, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$66,030

Median pay in Michigan. 25,540 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $47,830Top 10%: $98,720

Proofreaders and Copy Markers

$35,530

Median pay in Michigan. 140 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $32,180Top 10%: $63,090

About Kalamazoo College

English ranks 8th of 9 bachelor's programs at Kalamazoo College by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($72,008), Business ($47,481), and Economics ($42,508).

Other English bachelor's programs near Kalamazoo

Common questions

The median graduate earns $24,329 one year after graduating and $48,592 five years after. The median across English bachelor's programs in Michigan is $28,927.

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 English program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Related pages