Morehead State Teacher Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
  • Public university
  • Morehead, KY
  • About 60 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Morehead State teacher education graduates earn less than graduates of most teacher education programs nationally, $36,198 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,292 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,075. Several Kentucky programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$36,19815th percentile of 655 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$37,4213% more than year one
Median federal debt$25,2928th lowest of 13 Kentucky programs
Debt-to-earnings70%Kentucky median 67%, national 61%

How it compares

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

Five years out, Morehead State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $2,291 less than the Kentucky median. Several Kentucky programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.

Debt and first-year pay at every Kentucky teacher education program

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

Morehead 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 3% between the first and fifth year.

Morehead State grads, year 1$36,198
Morehead State grads, year 5$37,421
All Kentucky teacher education grads, year 5$39,712

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 $1,333 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$35,919Median debt $27,000
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$37,252Median debt $24,687

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $268 a month, or 8.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

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

92% of graduates (71 of 77) 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 $36,198 salary here buys what about $42,460 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 teacher education, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education

$60,610

Median pay in Kentucky. 19,080 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 87,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $45,600Top 10%: $79,740

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$61,560

Median pay in Kentucky. 12,780 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $47,130Top 10%: $83,310

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$61,120

Median pay in Kentucky. 8,040 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $46,270Top 10%: $79,650

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

$29,780

Median pay in Kentucky. 8,520 people work in this job in Kentucky. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 66,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $23,490Top 10%: $51,760

About Morehead State

Teacher Education ranks 12th of 27 bachelor's programs at Morehead State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($70,523), Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($64,504), and Engineering-Related Fields ($62,330).

Other teacher education bachelor's programs near Morehead

Common questions

The median graduate earns $36,198 one year after graduating and $37,421 five years after. The median across teacher education bachelor's programs in Kentucky is $37,784.

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 teacher education program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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