SUNY Plattsburgh Psychology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Psychology, General
  • Public university
  • Plattsburgh, NY
  • About 80 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

SUNY Plattsburgh psychology graduates earn about what psychology graduates earn nationally, $29,147 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $23,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,624. Several New York programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$29,14730th percentile of 875 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$46,14858% more than year one
Median federal debt$23,00024th lowest of 65 New York programs
Debt-to-earnings79%New York median 75%, national 78%

How it compares

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

Five years out, SUNY Plattsburgh graduates earn less than the national figure and about $8,867 less than the New York median. Several New York programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York psychology program

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

SUNY PlattsburghOther New York 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 58% between the first and fifth year.

SUNY Plattsburgh grads, year 1$29,147
SUNY Plattsburgh grads, year 5$46,148
All New York psychology grads, year 5$55,015

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 $4,737 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$28,183Median debt $24,125
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$32,920Median debt $21,500

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $244 a month, or 10.0% 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. Separately, 33 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $15,314.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

88% of graduates (80 of 91) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of New York outside metro areas are about 8% below the national average, so a $29,147 salary here buys what about $31,815 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 psychology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

$114,400

Median pay in New York. 8,420 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $64,980Top 10%: $204,540

Social Science Research Assistants

$61,210

Median pay in New York. 3,040 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $35,520Top 10%: $103,080

Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

$193,950

Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 300 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

About SUNY Plattsburgh

Psychology ranks 18th of 27 bachelor's programs at SUNY Plattsburgh by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($76,152), Accounting ($51,243), and Computer and Information Science ($50,291).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $29,147 one year after graduating and $46,148 five years after. The median across psychology bachelor's programs in New York is $31,351.

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 psychology program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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