How much debt do Kentucky State business graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $30,750, which ranks 10th lowest of 13 business bachelor's programs in Kentucky. That works out to about $326 a month over 10 years.

Is a business degree from Kentucky State worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 114% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 54%. Compare the cost with other Kentucky programs before deciding.

Kentucky State Business (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: Do Kentucky State business graduates stay in Kentucky?

Most do. 57% (16 of 28) were working in Kentucky one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Business/Commerce, General
Public university
Frankfort, KY

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Kentucky State business graduates earn less than graduates of most business programs nationally, $27,013 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $30,750 in federal loans, more than at 83% of business programs in the country. Several Kentucky programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$27,013Bottom 1% of 206 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$51,85492% more than year one

Median federal debt$30,75010th lowest of 13 Kentucky programs

Debt-to-earnings114%Kentucky median 65%, national 54%

How it compares

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

	Kentucky State	Kentucky	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$27,013	$41,281	$46,707
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$51,854	$55,853	$64,119
Median federal debt at graduation	$30,750	$26,022	$25,625
Debt as share of first-year pay	114%	65%	54%
Programs compared		14	206

Five years out, Kentucky State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $3,999 less than the Kentucky median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Kentucky business program

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

Kentucky StateOther Kentucky 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 92% between the first and fifth year.

Kentucky State grads, year 1$27,013

Kentucky State grads, year 5$51,854

All Kentucky business grads, year 5$55,853

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 $326 a month, or 14.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (36 borrowers)	Share
Paused payments (forbearance)	20–39%

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

57% of graduates (16 of 28) were working in Kentucky one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Kentucky outside metro areas are about 15% below the national average, so a $27,013 salary here buys what about $31,686 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 business, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

General and Operations Managers

$79,370

Median pay in Kentucky. 52,100 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 285,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $40,500Top 10%: $176,820

Project Management Specialists

$81,700

Median pay in Kentucky. 10,250 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 76,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $52,090Top 10%: $131,670

Management Analysts

$95,630

Median pay in Kentucky. 4,550 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 94,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $58,660Top 10%: $139,180

Sales Managers

$128,650

Median pay in Kentucky. 6,650 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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%: $67,690Top 10%: $236,990

About Kentucky State

In-state tuition and fees	$9,387 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$13,658 / year
Average net price after aid	$8,040 / year
Admission rate	96%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	32%
Undergraduate students	1,309

Business ranks 2nd of 3 bachelor's programs at Kentucky State by first-year earnings. The others are Criminal Justice ($33,099) and Subject-Area Teacher Education ($25,378).

Other business bachelor's programs near Frankfort

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Kentucky StateFrankfort, KY · public		$27,013	$30,750
Midway UniversityMidway, KY · private nonprofit	10 mi	$38,334	$26,000
University of KentuckyLexington, KY · public	22 mi	$49,431	$23,055
Transylvania UniversityLexington, KY · private nonprofit	22 mi	$31,614	$26,044
Eastern Kentucky UniversityRichmond, KY · public	44 mi	$41,502	$27,000
Sullivan UniversityLouisville, KY · private for-profit	44 mi	$56,432	$43,625
Spalding UniversityLouisville, KY · private nonprofit	49 mi	$47,596	$31,000
IU SoutheastNew Albany, IN · public	53 mi	$47,862	$22,062

Common questions

The median graduate earns $27,013 one year after graduating and $51,854 five years after. The median across business bachelor's programs in Kentucky is $41,281.

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 Kentucky 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 business 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

Business bachelor's programs in Kentucky, ranked14 programs by pay and debt Business bachelor's programs in the US, ranked206 programs by pay and debt All Kentucky State programs, ranked3 programs by pay and debt