SUNY New Paltz Journalism (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Journalism
- Public university
- New Paltz, NY
- About 12 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
SUNY New Paltz journalism graduates earn less than graduates of most journalism programs nationally, $29,628 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,500 in federal loans, less than at 77% of journalism programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the New York median of $32,456.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all journalism bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, SUNY New Paltz graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the New York median.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York journalism program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York 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 78% 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 $217 a month, or 8.8% 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
88% of graduates (21 of 24) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the Kingston area are about 1% above the national average, so a $29,628 salary here buys what about $29,419 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 journalism, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Editors
$101,480Median pay in New York. 16,800 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Photographers
$60,050Median pay in New York. 3,650 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Writers and Authors
$76,910Median pay nationwide. 7,480 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists
$100,770Median pay in New York. 5,750 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About SUNY New Paltz
Journalism ranks 15th of 29 bachelor's programs at SUNY New Paltz by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($72,238), Mechanical Engineering ($66,274), and Accounting ($47,884).
Other journalism bachelor's programs near New Paltz
Common questions
The median graduate earns $29,628 one year after graduating and $52,654 five years after. The median across journalism bachelor's programs in New York is $32,456.
The median federal loan balance is $20,500, which ranks 4th lowest of 15 journalism bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $217 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 69% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other New York programs before deciding.
Most do. 88% (21 of 24) were working in New York 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 New York 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 journalism 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