Radford University Economics (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Economics
- Public university
- Radford, VA
- About 11 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Radford University economics graduates earn less than graduates of most economics programs nationally, $45,189 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $26,000 in federal loans, more than at 78% of economics programs in the country. Several Virginia programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Virginia and national columns are the medians across all economics bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Radford University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $18,253 less than the Virginia median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia economics program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Virginia medians.
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 40% between the first and fifth year.
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 $276 a month, or 7.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
89% of graduates (25 of 28) were working in Virginia one year after graduating. Prices in the Blacksburg area are about 7% below the national average, so a $45,189 salary here buys what about $48,742 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 economics, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$72,170Median pay in Virginia. 31,100 people work in this job in Virginia. 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.
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
$76,980Median pay in Virginia. 25,610 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 82,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Data Scientists
$126,430Median pay in Virginia. 8,920 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 35% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Social Science Research Assistants
$53,260Median pay in Virginia. 700 people work in this job in Virginia. 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.
About Radford University
Economics ranks 10th of 29 bachelor's programs at Radford University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($69,662), Computer Science ($66,857), and Medical Laboratory Science ($63,606).
Other economics bachelor's programs near Radford
Common questions
The median graduate earns $45,189 one year after graduating and $63,478 five years after. The median across economics bachelor's programs in Virginia is $54,643.
The median federal loan balance is $26,000, which ranks 10th lowest of 11 economics bachelor's programs in Virginia. That works out to about $276 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 58% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 43%. Compare the cost with other Virginia programs before deciding.
Most do. 89% (25 of 28) were working in Virginia one year after graduating.
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 Virginia 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 economics 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