How much debt do Kennesaw State sociology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $34,375, which ranks 10th lowest of 12 sociology bachelor's programs in Georgia. That works out to about $364 a month over 10 years.

Is a sociology degree from Kennesaw State worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 95% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%. Compare the cost with other Georgia programs before deciding.

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

Q: Do Kennesaw State sociology graduates stay in Georgia?

Most do. 89% (91 of 102) were working in Georgia one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Sociology
Public university
Kennesaw, GA
About 71 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Kennesaw State sociology graduates earn about what sociology graduates earn nationally, $36,212 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $34,375 in federal loans, more than at 96% of sociology programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying sociology degrees in Georgia.

First-year earnings$36,21265th percentile of 397 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$46,35928% more than year one

Median federal debt$34,37510th lowest of 12 Georgia programs

Debt-to-earnings95%Georgia median 94%, national 72%

How it compares

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

	Kennesaw State	Georgia	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$36,212	$30,984	$34,099
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$46,359	$43,748	$50,382
Median federal debt at graduation	$34,375	$28,875	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	95%	94%	72%
Programs compared		12	397

Five years out, Kennesaw State graduates earn less than the national figure but about $2,612 more than the Georgia median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia sociology 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 28% between the first and fifth year.

Kennesaw State grads, year 1$36,212

Kennesaw State grads, year 5$46,359

All Georgia sociology grads, year 5$43,748

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 $2,770 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$35,377Median debt $36,856

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$38,147Median debt $21,831

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $364 a month, or 12.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (127 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	10% or less
Paying down the balance	20–29%
Paused payments (forbearance)	30–39%
In default	10% 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. Separately, 26 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $12,006.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

89% of graduates (91 of 102) 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 sociology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Social Science Research Assistants

$66,620

Median pay in Georgia. 1,840 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $40,650Top 10%: $136,810

Sociologists

$106,030

Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 200 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

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

Sociology ranks 37th 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 sociology bachelor's programs near Kennesaw

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Kennesaw StateKennesaw, GA · public		$36,212	$34,375
Morehouse CollegeAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	22 mi	$31,391	$29,500
Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA · private nonprofit	23 mi	$30,516	$20,500
Georgia StateAtlanta, GA · public	23 mi	$28,968	$31,000
Clayton StateMorrow, GA · public	34 mi	$29,834	$40,687
University of West GeorgiaCarrollton, GA · public	44 mi	$34,393	$28,875
University of North GeorgiaDahlonega, GA · public	48 mi	$30,576	$25,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $36,212 one year after graduating and $46,359 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in Georgia is $30,984.

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 sociology 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

Sociology bachelor's programs in Georgia, ranked12 programs by pay and debt Sociology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked397 programs by pay and debt All Kennesaw State programs, ranked56 programs by pay and debt