Texas Tech Anthropology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Anthropology
- Public university
- Lubbock, TX
- About 20 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Texas Tech anthropology graduates earn about what anthropology graduates earn nationally, $30,385 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $26,500 in federal loans, more than at 79% of anthropology 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 anthropology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Texas anthropology 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.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $281 a month, or 11.1% 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
72% of graduates (18 of 25) were working in Texas one year after graduating. Prices in the Lubbock area are about 9% below the national average, so a $30,385 salary here buys what about $33,274 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 anthropology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
$80,470Median pay in Texas. 11,920 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Forensic Science Technicians
$59,870Median pay in Texas. 1,900 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Anthropologists and Archeologists
$67,700Median pay in Texas. 430 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 800 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Texas Tech
Anthropology ranks 53rd of 59 bachelor's programs at Texas Tech by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($85,619), Computer and Information Science ($82,521), and Petroleum Engineering ($80,460).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $30,385 one year after graduating. The median across anthropology bachelor's programs in Texas is $28,369.
The median federal loan balance is $26,500, which ranks 10th lowest of 11 anthropology bachelor's programs in Texas. That works out to about $281 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 87% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 81%. Compare the cost with other Texas programs before deciding.
Most do. 72% (18 of 25) 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 anthropology 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