Saint Louis University Political Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Political Science and Government
- Private nonprofit university
- Saint Louis, MO
- About 54 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Saint Louis University political science graduates earn less than graduates of most political science programs nationally, $30,502 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $23,500. Several Missouri programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Missouri and national columns are the medians across all political science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Saint Louis University graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the Missouri median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Missouri political science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Missouri 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 110% 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 $265 a month, or 10.4% 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
Prices in the St. Louis area are about 5% below the national average, so a $30,502 salary here buys what about $32,078 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 political science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$59,240Median pay in Missouri. 24,380 people work in this job in Missouri. 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.
Social Science Research Assistants
$65,940Median pay in Missouri. 750 people work in this job in Missouri. 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.
Economists
$117,010Median pay in Missouri. 280 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Political Scientists
$142,080Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Saint Louis University
Political Science ranks 27th of 30 bachelor's programs at Saint Louis University by first-year earnings. The top three are Aerospace Engineering ($75,122), Mechanical Engineering ($74,209), and Nursing ($70,226).
Other political science bachelor's programs near Saint Louis
Common questions
The median graduate earns $30,502 one year after graduating and $64,048 five years after. The median across political science bachelor's programs in Missouri is $36,886.
The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 4th lowest of 6 political science bachelor's programs in Missouri. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 82% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 65%. Compare the cost with other Missouri programs before deciding.
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 Missouri 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 political science 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