How much debt do Keene State College English graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 4th lowest of 6 English bachelor's programs in New Hampshire. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.

Is a English degree from Keene State College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 69% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 77%.

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

Q: Do Keene State College English graduates stay in New Hampshire?

Most do. 72% (18 of 25) were working in New Hampshire one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in English Language and Literature, General
Public college
Keene, NH
About 28 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Keene State College English graduates earn more than graduates of most English programs nationally, $39,122 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, more than at 79% of English programs in the country. One other New Hampshire program reports higher pay.

First-year earnings$39,12290th percentile of 471 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$52,90135% more than year one

Median federal debt$27,0004th lowest of 6 New Hampshire programs

Debt-to-earnings69%New Hampshire median 75%, national 77%

How it compares

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

	Keene State College	New Hampshire	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$39,122	$35,074	$30,195
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$52,901	$51,530	$47,348
Median federal debt at graduation	$27,000	$26,849	$24,498
Debt as share of first-year pay	69%	75%	77%
Programs compared		6	471

Five years out, Keene State College graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the New Hampshire median.

Debt and first-year pay at every New Hampshire English program

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

Keene State CollegeOther New Hampshire 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 35% between the first and fifth year.

Keene State College grads, year 1$39,122

Keene State College grads, year 5$52,901

All New Hampshire English grads, year 5$51,530

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 8.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (35 borrowers)	Share
Paying down the balance	40–59%

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

72% of graduates (18 of 25) were working in New Hampshire one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of New Hampshire outside metro areas are about 1% above the national average, so a $39,122 salary here buys what about $38,923 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

$77,060

Median pay in New Hampshire. 5,860 people work in this job in New Hampshire. 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%: $48,570Top 10%: $96,510

Proofreaders and Copy Markers

$51,120

Median pay nationwide. 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.

About Keene State College

In-state tuition and fees	$14,784 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$26,840 / year
Average net price after aid	$17,887 / year
Admission rate	90%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	60%
Undergraduate students	2,699

English ranks 12th of 23 bachelor's programs at Keene State College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($74,915), Quality Control and Safety Technology ($63,479), and Computer and Information Science ($48,003).

Other English bachelor's programs near Keene

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Keene State CollegeKeene, NH · public		$39,122	$27,000
Fitchburg StateFitchburg, MA · public	34 mi	$39,938	$27,000
UMass AmherstAmherst, MA · public	39 mi	$24,521	$23,950
Saint Anselm CollegeManchester, NH · private nonprofit	39 mi	$35,584	$26,000
SNHUManchester, NH · private nonprofit	43 mi	$30,733	$31,808
Massachusetts College of Liberal ArtsNorth Adams, MA · public	45 mi	$29,677	$26,000
Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA · private nonprofit	46 mi	$25,023	$19,000
Mount Holyoke CollegeSouth Hadley, MA · private nonprofit	49 mi	$22,680	$23,000
Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA · private nonprofit	49 mi	$49,340	$13,125

Common questions

The median graduate earns $39,122 one year after graduating and $52,901 five years after. The median across English bachelor's programs in New Hampshire is $35,074.

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 New Hampshire 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

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

English bachelor's programs in New Hampshire, ranked6 programs by pay and debt English bachelor's programs in the US, ranked471 programs by pay and debt All Keene State College programs, ranked23 programs by pay and debt