How much debt do Kennesaw State English graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 10th lowest of 13 English bachelor's programs in Georgia. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.

Is a English degree from Kennesaw State worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 101% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 77%. Compare the cost with other Georgia programs before deciding.

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

Q: Do Kennesaw State English graduates stay in Georgia?

Most do. 94% (76 of 81) were working in Georgia one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in English Language and Literature, General
Public university
Kennesaw, GA
About 59 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Kennesaw State English graduates earn about what English graduates earn nationally, $26,801 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. Several Georgia programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$26,80130th percentile of 471 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$44,11265% more than year one

Median federal debt$27,00010th lowest of 13 Georgia programs

Debt-to-earnings101%Georgia median 96%, national 77%

How it compares

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

	Kennesaw State	Georgia	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$26,801	$26,308	$30,195
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$44,112	$45,098	$47,348
Median federal debt at graduation	$27,000	$25,564	$24,498
Debt as share of first-year pay	101%	96%	77%
Programs compared		13	471

Five years out, Kennesaw State graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Georgia median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia English program

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

Kennesaw StateOther Georgia 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 65% between the first and fifth year.

Kennesaw State grads, year 1$26,801

Kennesaw State grads, year 5$44,112

All Georgia English grads, year 5$45,098

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $1,837 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$25,783Median debt $31,000

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$27,620Median debt $23,520

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 12.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (90 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20% or less
Paying down the balance	20–39%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20% or less
In default	20% or less

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

94% of graduates (76 of 81) were working in Georgia one year after graduating. Prices in the Atlanta area are about the same as the national average.

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

$75,480

Median pay in Georgia. 25,730 people work in this job in Georgia. 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%: $49,450Top 10%: $96,820

Proofreaders and Copy Markers

$49,200

Median pay in Georgia. 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%: $34,980Top 10%: $58,910

About Kennesaw State

In-state tuition and fees	$5,808 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$17,736 / year
Average net price after aid	$15,048 / year
Admission rate	69%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	52%
Undergraduate students	41,254

English ranks 53rd of 56 bachelor's programs at Kennesaw State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($80,560), Computer Engineering ($77,455), and Electrical Engineering ($74,181).

Other English bachelor's programs near Kennesaw

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Kennesaw StateKennesaw, GA · public		$26,801	$27,000
Morehouse CollegeAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	22 mi	$24,659	$26,000
Spelman CollegeAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	23 mi	$31,129	$25,564
Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	23 mi	$36,019	$21,000
Georgia StateAtlanta, GA · public	23 mi	$25,559	$27,513
Clayton StateMorrow, GA · public	34 mi	$22,874	$22,638
University of West GeorgiaCarrollton, GA · public	44 mi	$24,055	$26,657
University of North GeorgiaDahlonega, GA · public	48 mi	$35,733	$24,500

Common questions

The median graduate earns $26,801 one year after graduating and $44,112 five years after. The median across English bachelor's programs in Georgia is $26,308.

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 Georgia 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 Georgia, ranked13 programs by pay and debt English bachelor's programs in the US, ranked471 programs by pay and debt All Kennesaw State programs, ranked56 programs by pay and debt