How much debt do Rutgers sociology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $24,405, which ranks 3rd lowest of 12 sociology bachelor's programs in New Jersey. That works out to about $259 a month over 10 years.

Is a sociology degree from Rutgers worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 71% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several New Jersey programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

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

Q: Do Rutgers sociology graduates stay in New Jersey?

Most do. 89% (136 of 153) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Sociology
Public university
New Brunswick, NJ
About 51 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Rutgers sociology graduates earn about what sociology graduates earn nationally, $34,344 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,405 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several New Jersey programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$34,34451st percentile of 397 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$52,96054% more than year one

Median federal debt$24,4053rd lowest of 12 New Jersey programs

Debt-to-earnings71%New Jersey median 76%, national 72%

How it compares

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

	Rutgers	New Jersey	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$34,344	$32,914	$34,099
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$52,960	$53,101	$50,382
Median federal debt at graduation	$24,405	$25,531	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	71%	76%	72%
Programs compared		13	397

Five years out, Rutgers graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the New Jersey median.

Debt and first-year pay at every New Jersey sociology program

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

RutgersOther New Jersey 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 54% between the first and fifth year.

Rutgers grads, year 1$34,344

Rutgers grads, year 5$52,960

All New Jersey sociology grads, year 5$53,101

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 more in their first year than other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $24,832 against $20,038.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$35,284Median debt $24,832

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$29,298Median debt $20,038

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $259 a month, or 9.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (189 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	10% or less
Paying down the balance	20–29%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20–29%
In default	10% or less

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

89% of graduates (136 of 153) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating. Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $34,344 salary here buys what about $30,511 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

$62,760

Median pay in New Jersey. 370 people work in this job in New Jersey. 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%: $37,960Top 10%: $105,390

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 Rutgers

In-state tuition and fees	$17,929 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$37,441 / year
Average net price after aid	$24,406 / year
Admission rate	58%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	84%
Undergraduate students	37,751

Sociology ranks 55th of 74 bachelor's programs at Rutgers by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($87,594), Electrical Engineering ($82,598), and Computer and Information Science ($80,448).

Other sociology bachelor's programs near New Brunswick

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
RutgersNew Brunswick, NJ · public		$34,344	$24,405
Kean UniversityUnion, NJ · public	17 mi	$36,432	$27,000
Drew UniversityMadison, NJ · private nonprofit	18 mi	$20,658	$26,750
Rider UniversityLawrenceville, NJ · private nonprofit	22 mi	$36,705	$27,000
TCNJEwing, NJ · public	24 mi	$46,953	$24,208
New Jersey City UniversityJersey City, NJ · public	24 mi	$32,082	$25,781
Montclair StateMontclair, NJ · public	28 mi	$32,268	$25,000
NYUNew York, NY · private nonprofit	28 mi	$22,697	$18,875
John Jay CollegeNew York, NY · public	30 mi	$40,401	$14,125

Common questions

The median graduate earns $34,344 one year after graduating and $52,960 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in New Jersey is $32,914.

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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey, ranked13 programs by pay and debt Sociology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked397 programs by pay and debt All Rutgers programs, ranked75 programs by pay and debt