Sam Houston State Chemistry (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Chemistry
- Public university
- Huntsville, TX
- About 30 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Sam Houston State chemistry graduates earn about what chemistry graduates earn nationally, $43,940 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $28,775 in federal loans, more than at 97% of chemistry programs in the country. Several Texas programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Texas and national columns are the medians across all chemistry bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Sam Houston State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $6,566 less than the Texas median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Texas chemistry program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Texas 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 29% 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 $305 a month, or 8.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
97% of graduates (33 of 34) were working in Texas one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Texas outside metro areas are about 12% below the national average, so a $43,940 salary here buys what about $50,026 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 chemistry, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$63,590Median pay in Texas. 111,660 people work in this job in Texas. 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.
Data Scientists
$122,090Median pay in Texas. 25,860 people work in this job in Texas. 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.
Natural Sciences Managers
$129,960Median pay in Texas. 7,470 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
$92,000Median pay in Texas. 5,630 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Sam Houston State
Chemistry ranks 15th of 42 bachelor's programs at Sam Houston State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($82,463), Construction Engineering Technology ($72,116), and Agricultural Mechanization ($63,369).
Other chemistry bachelor's programs near Huntsville
Common questions
The median graduate earns $43,940 one year after graduating and $56,588 five years after. The median across chemistry bachelor's programs in Texas is $41,799.
The median federal loan balance is $28,775, which ranks 11th lowest of 11 chemistry bachelor's programs in Texas. That works out to about $305 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 65% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%. Compare the cost with other Texas programs before deciding.
Most do. 97% (33 of 34) were working in Texas 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 Texas 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 chemistry 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