How much debt do Lane College sociology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $40,472, which ranks 8th lowest of 8 sociology bachelor's programs in Tennessee. That works out to about $429 a month over 10 years.

Is a sociology degree from Lane College worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 172% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%. Compare the cost with other Tennessee programs before deciding.

Lane College Sociology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Sociology
Private nonprofit college
Jackson, TN
About 21 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Lane College sociology graduates earn less than graduates of most sociology programs nationally, $23,591 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $40,472 in federal loans, more than at 99% of sociology programs in the country. Several Tennessee programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$23,5913rd percentile of 397 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$34,58947% more than year one

Median federal debt$40,4728th lowest of 8 Tennessee programs

Debt-to-earnings172%Tennessee median 85%, national 72%

How it compares

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

	Lane College	Tennessee	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$23,591	$33,261	$34,099
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$34,589	$37,552	$50,382
Median federal debt at graduation	$40,472	$25,245	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	172%	85%	72%
Programs compared		8	397

Five years out, Lane College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $2,963 less than the Tennessee median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Tennessee sociology program

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

Lane CollegeOther Tennessee 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 47% between the first and fifth year.

Lane College grads, year 1$23,591

Lane College grads, year 5$34,589

All Tennessee sociology grads, year 5$37,552

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 $429 a month, or 21.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (35 borrowers)	Share
Paused payments (forbearance)	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

Prices in the Jackson area are about 14% below the national average, so a $23,591 salary here buys what about $27,585 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 sociology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Social Science Research Assistants

$46,410

Median pay in Tennessee. 140 people work in this job in Tennessee. 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%: $33,120Top 10%: $58,500

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 Lane College

Tuition and fees	$11,790 / year
Average net price after aid	$10,904 / year
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	18%
Undergraduate students	736

Sociology ranks 4th of 5 bachelor's programs at Lane College by first-year earnings. The top three are Criminal Justice ($35,917), Biology ($26,754), and Subject-Area Teacher Education ($24,128).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $23,591 one year after graduating and $34,589 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in Tennessee is $33,261.

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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee, ranked8 programs by pay and debt Sociology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked397 programs by pay and debt All Lane College programs, ranked5 programs by pay and debt