How much debt do Kent State marketing graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 10th lowest of 28 marketing bachelor's programs in Ohio. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.

Is a marketing degree from Kent State worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 56% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 53%. Compare the cost with other Ohio programs before deciding.

Do Kent State marketing graduates stay in Ohio?

Most do. 76% (214 of 283) were working in Ohio one year after graduating.

Kent State Marketing (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Marketing
Public university
Kent, OH
About 157 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Kent State marketing graduates earn about what marketing graduates earn nationally, $44,567 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,250. Several Ohio programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$44,56750th percentile of 471 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$64,92346% more than year one

Median federal debt$25,00010th lowest of 28 Ohio programs

Debt-to-earnings56%Ohio median 55%, national 53%

How it compares

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

	Kent State	Ohio	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$44,567	$46,262	$44,567
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$64,923	$64,383	$64,125
Median federal debt at graduation	$25,000	$26,000	$24,250
Debt as share of first-year pay	56%	55%	53%
Programs compared		30	471

Five years out, Kent State graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the Ohio median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio marketing program

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

Kent StateOther Ohio 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 46% between the first and fifth year.

Kent State grads, year 1$44,567

Kent State grads, year 5$64,923

All Ohio marketing grads, year 5$64,383

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 $1,822 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$43,307Median debt $25,250

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$45,129Median debt $24,636

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $265 a month, or 7.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (230 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	10–14%
Paying down the balance	40–44%
Paused payments (forbearance)	15–19%
In default	5% 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, 92 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $30,314.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

76% of graduates (214 of 283) were working in Ohio one year after graduating. Prices in the Akron area are about 7% below the national average, so a $44,567 salary here buys what about $47,732 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 marketing, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

$72,790

Median pay in Ohio. 27,370 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 82,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $39,860Top 10%: $129,270

Sales Managers

$135,510

Median pay in Ohio. 22,840 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 47,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $74,190Top 10%: $251,110

Marketing Managers

$132,330

Median pay in Ohio. 10,620 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 34,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $77,490Top 10%: $224,990

Web and Digital Interface Designers

$83,360

Median pay in Ohio. 2,520 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $48,940Top 10%: $151,090

About Kent State

In-state tuition and fees	$13,232 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$23,082 / year
Average net price after aid	$20,787 / year
Admission rate	86%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	64%
Undergraduate students	19,320

Marketing ranks 15th of 56 bachelor's programs at Kent State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($66,990), Construction Management ($64,652), and Computer Science ($60,051).

Other marketing bachelor's programs near Kent

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Kent StateKent, OH · public		$44,567	$25,000
University of AkronAkron, OH · public	10 mi	$47,740	$25,000
University of Mount UnionAlliance, OH · private nonprofit	21 mi	$49,025	$26,841
Malone UniversityCanton, OH · private nonprofit	22 mi	$40,893	$27,000
John Carroll UniversityUniversity Heights, OH · private nonprofit	26 mi	$48,890	$27,000
Case WesternCleveland, OH · private nonprofit	29 mi	$45,251	$27,000
Cleveland StateCleveland, OH · public	30 mi	$43,706	$24,219
Baldwin Wallace UniversityBerea, OH · private nonprofit	31 mi	$44,596	$27,000
Youngstown StateYoungstown, OH · public	36 mi	$36,518	$23,900

Common questions

The median graduate earns $44,567 one year after graduating and $64,923 five years after. The median across marketing bachelor's programs in Ohio is $46,262.

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 Ohio 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 marketing 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

Marketing bachelor's programs in Ohio, ranked30 programs by pay and debt Marketing bachelor's programs in the US, ranked471 programs by pay and debt All Kent State programs, ranked66 programs by pay and debt