Virginia Western Community College Social Sciences (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Social Sciences, General
- Public college
- Roanoke, VA
- About 53 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Virginia Western Community College social sciences graduates earn less than graduates of most social sciences programs nationally, $19,220 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $9,128 in federal loans, close to the national median of $9,314. Several Virginia programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Virginia and national columns are the medians across all social sciences associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Virginia Western Community College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $1,143 less than the Virginia median. Several Virginia programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia social sciences program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Virginia 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 85% 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 $97 a month, or 6.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
97% of graduates (32 of 33) were working in Virginia one year after graduating. Prices in the Roanoke area are about 6% below the national average, so a $19,220 salary here buys what about $20,530 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 social sciences, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
$65,550Median pay in Virginia. 37,880 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 87,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$72,170Median pay in Virginia. 31,100 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$63,520Median pay in Virginia. 18,290 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Social Science Research Assistants
$53,260Median pay in Virginia. 700 people work in this job in Virginia. 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.
About Virginia Western Community College
Social Sciences ranks 9th of 9 associate's programs at Virginia Western Community College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($64,052), Dental Hygiene and Assisting ($61,030), and Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($54,480).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $19,220 one year after graduating and $35,551 five years after. The median across social sciences associate's programs in Virginia is $23,637.
The median federal loan balance is $9,128, which ranks the lowest of 5 social sciences associate's programs in Virginia. That works out to about $97 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 47% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 35%. Compare the cost with other Virginia programs before deciding.
Most do. 97% (32 of 33) were working in Virginia 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 Virginia 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 social sciences 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