How much debt do Utah State communications graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $14,750, which ranks 3rd lowest of 8 communications bachelor's programs in Utah. That works out to about $156 a month over 10 years.

Is a communications degree from Utah State worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 39% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 69%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Utah programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

Do Utah State communications graduates stay in Utah?

Most do. 88% (67 of 76) were working in Utah one year after graduating.

Utah State Communications (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Communication and Media Studies
Public university
Logan, UT
About 70 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Utah State communications graduates earn about what communications graduates earn nationally, $37,574 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $14,750 in federal loans, less than at 95% of communications programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying communications degrees in Utah.

First-year earnings$37,57467th percentile of 577 programs nationally

Median federal debt$14,7503rd lowest of 8 Utah programs

Debt-to-earnings39%Utah median 42%, national 69%

How it compares

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

	Utah State	Utah	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$37,574	$40,392	$34,574
Median federal debt at graduation	$14,750	$17,292	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	39%	42%	69%
Programs compared		8	577

Debt and first-year pay at every Utah communications program

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

Utah StateOther Utah programs

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 $156 a month, or 5.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

88% of graduates (67 of 76) were working in Utah one year after graduating. Prices in the Logan area are about 4% below the national average, so a $37,574 salary here buys what about $39,169 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 communications, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Public Relations Specialists

$62,670

Median pay in Utah. 1,800 people work in this job in Utah. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 23,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $41,410Top 10%: $119,270

Fundraisers

$61,820

Median pay in Utah. 920 people work in this job in Utah. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $38,810Top 10%: $99,490

Editors

$65,040

Median pay in Utah. 590 people work in this job in Utah. 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.

Bottom 10%: $40,470Top 10%: $119,680

Public Relations Managers

$132,670

Median pay in Utah. 580 people work in this job in Utah. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $80,370Top 10%: $262,990

About Utah State

In-state tuition and fees	$9,228 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$24,802 / year
Average net price after aid	$14,936 / year
Admission rate	92%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	59%
Undergraduate students	20,272

Communications ranks 28th of 52 bachelor's programs at Utah State by first-year earnings. The top three are Public Health ($76,451), Electrical Engineering ($74,055), and Computer and Information Science ($71,335).

Other communications bachelor's programs near Logan

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Utah StateLogan, UT · public		$37,574	$14,750
Weber StateOgden, UT · public	38 mi	$43,209	$16,566

Common questions

The median graduate earns $37,574 one year after graduating. The median across communications bachelor's programs in Utah is $40,392.

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 Utah 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 communications 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

Communications bachelor's programs in Utah, ranked8 programs by pay and debt Communications bachelor's programs in the US, ranked577 programs by pay and debt All Utah State programs, ranked54 programs by pay and debt