How much debt do Purdue Northwest sociology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $24,500, which ranks 6th lowest of 8 sociology bachelor's programs in Indiana. That works out to about $260 a month over 10 years.

Is a sociology degree from Purdue Northwest worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 69% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Indiana programs report higher pay.

Purdue Northwest Sociology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: Do Purdue Northwest sociology graduates stay in Indiana?

Most do. 85% (39 of 46) were working in Indiana one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Sociology
Public university
Hammond, IN
About 13 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Purdue Northwest sociology graduates earn about what sociology graduates earn nationally, $35,334 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,500 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several Indiana programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$35,33459th percentile of 397 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$40,65415% more than year one

Median federal debt$24,5006th lowest of 8 Indiana programs

Debt-to-earnings69%Indiana median 66%, national 72%

How it compares

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

	Purdue Northwest	Indiana	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$35,334	$34,154	$34,099
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$40,654	$50,157	$50,382
Median federal debt at graduation	$24,500	$21,596	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	69%	66%	72%
Programs compared		10	397

Five years out, Purdue Northwest graduates earn less than the national figure and about $9,503 less than the Indiana median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Indiana sociology program

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

Purdue NorthwestOther Indiana 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 15% between the first and fifth year.

Purdue Northwest grads, year 1$35,334

Purdue Northwest grads, year 5$40,654

All Indiana sociology grads, year 5$50,157

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 $8,677 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$30,697Median debt $28,341

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$39,374Median debt $20,500

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $260 a month, or 8.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (40 borrowers)	Share
Paying down the balance	20–39%
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

85% of graduates (39 of 46) were working in Indiana one year after graduating. Prices in the Chicago area are about 4% above the national average, so a $35,334 salary here buys what about $34,108 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

$57,020

Median pay in Indiana. 210 people work in this job in Indiana. 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%: $30,580Top 10%: $105,750

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 Purdue Northwest

In-state tuition and fees	$8,675 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$16,094 / year
Average net price after aid	$6,079 / year
Admission rate	72%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	43%
Undergraduate students	5,671

Sociology ranks 18th of 27 bachelor's programs at Purdue Northwest by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($79,917), Nursing ($77,691), and Electrical Engineering Technology ($75,675).

Other sociology bachelor's programs near Hammond

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Purdue NorthwestHammond, IN · public		$35,334	$24,500
Chicago StateChicago, IL · public	12 mi	$42,687	$38,087
Saint Xavier UniversityChicago, IL · private nonprofit	15 mi	$35,103	$27,000
DePaul UniversityChicago, IL · private nonprofit	22 mi	$33,644	$24,500
UICChicago, IL · public	22 mi	$34,435	$19,315
Dominican UniversityRiver Forest, IL · private nonprofit	28 mi	$31,657	$27,000
Northeastern Illinois UniversityChicago, IL · public	30 mi	$36,686	$17,457
Loyola ChicagoChicago, IL · private nonprofit	30 mi	$34,004	$22,250
Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IL · private nonprofit	34 mi	$38,402	$14,567

Common questions

The median graduate earns $35,334 one year after graduating and $40,654 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in Indiana is $34,154.

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 Indiana 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 Indiana, ranked10 programs by pay and debt Sociology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked397 programs by pay and debt All Purdue Northwest programs, ranked27 programs by pay and debt