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

  • Bachelor's in Sociology
  • Public school
  • Oneonta, NY
  • About 23 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

SUNY Oneonta sociology graduates earn about what sociology graduates earn nationally, $33,072 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $22,248 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several New York programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$33,07241st percentile of 397 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$55,71568% more than year one
Median federal debt$22,24815th lowest of 35 New York programs
Debt-to-earnings67%New York median 67%, national 72%

How it compares

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

Five years out, SUNY Oneonta graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the New York median.

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

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

SUNY OneontaOther 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 68% between the first and fifth year.

SUNY Oneonta grads, year 1$33,072
SUNY Oneonta grads, year 5$55,715
All New York sociology grads, year 5$55,539

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. They also borrowed less. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$36,582Median debt $22,246
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$27,559Median debt $22,251

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $236 a month, or 8.6% 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 (38 of 43) 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 $33,072 salary here buys what about $36,100 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

$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

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 SUNY Oneonta

Sociology ranks 10th of 28 bachelor's programs at SUNY Oneonta by first-year earnings. The top three are Accounting ($63,674), Computer and Information Science ($54,111), and Business Economics ($41,859).

Other sociology bachelor's programs near Oneonta

Common questions

The median graduate earns $33,072 one year after graduating and $55,715 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in New York is $33,500.

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 sociology 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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