How much debt do McDaniel College sociology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 4th lowest of 9 sociology bachelor's programs in Maryland. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.

Is a sociology degree from McDaniel College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 66% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Maryland programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

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

Bachelor's in Sociology
Private nonprofit college
Westminster, MD
About 15 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

McDaniel College sociology graduates earn more than graduates of most sociology programs nationally, $37,728 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several Maryland programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$37,72876th percentile of 397 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$54,92346% more than year one

Median federal debt$25,0004th lowest of 9 Maryland programs

Debt-to-earnings66%Maryland median 74%, national 72%

How it compares

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

	McDaniel College	Maryland	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$37,728	$34,150	$34,099
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$54,923	$57,122	$50,382
Median federal debt at graduation	$25,000	$27,000	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	66%	74%	72%
Programs compared		9	397

Five years out, McDaniel College graduates earn more than the national figure but about $2,199 less than the Maryland median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Maryland sociology program

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

McDaniel CollegeOther Maryland 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.

McDaniel College grads, year 1$37,728

McDaniel College grads, year 5$54,923

All Maryland sociology grads, year 5$57,122

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 $265 a month, or 8.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (26 borrowers)	Share
Paying down the balance	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 Baltimore area are about 4% above the national average, so a $37,728 salary here buys what about $36,108 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

$65,550

Median pay in Maryland. 700 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $47,260Top 10%: $113,020

Sociologists

$100,660

Median pay in Maryland. 50 people work in this job in Maryland. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 200 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $67,770Top 10%: $162,680

About McDaniel College

Tuition and fees	$52,081 / year
Average net price after aid	$21,916 / year
Admission rate	78%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	63%
Undergraduate students	1,617

Sociology ranks 4th of 7 bachelor's programs at McDaniel College by first-year earnings. The top three are Accounting ($65,941), Business Administration ($59,048), and Kinesiology and Exercise Science ($38,122).

Other sociology bachelor's programs near Westminster

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
McDaniel CollegeWestminster, MD · private nonprofit		$37,728	$25,000
Mount St. Mary's UniversityEmmitsburg, MD · private nonprofit	20 mi	$40,196	$27,000
Gettysburg CollegeGettysburg, PA · private nonprofit	21 mi	$36,396	$22,747
UMBCBaltimore, MD · public	27 mi	$39,435	$24,250
Morgan StateBaltimore, MD · public	28 mi	$31,470	$27,000
Bowie StateBowie, MD · public	41 mi	$38,893	$30,835
University of MarylandCollege Park, MD · public	41 mi	$34,150	$20,460
Millersville University of PennsylvaniaMillersville, PA · public	45 mi	$34,883	$26,000
Franklin and Marshall CollegeLancaster, PA · private nonprofit	48 mi	$31,444	$19,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $37,728 one year after graduating and $54,923 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in Maryland is $34,150.

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 Maryland 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 Maryland, ranked9 programs by pay and debt Sociology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked397 programs by pay and debt All McDaniel College programs, ranked7 programs by pay and debt