Western Washington University Sociology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Sociology
- Public university
- Bellingham, WA
- About 106 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Western Washington University sociology graduates earn about what sociology graduates earn nationally, $33,039 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,087 in federal loans, less than at 80% of sociology programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying sociology degrees in Washington.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Washington and national columns are the medians across all sociology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Western Washington University graduates earn about the national figure but about $8,099 less than the Washington median. Several Washington programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Washington sociology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Washington 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 48% between the first and fifth year.
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 slightly 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.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $213 a month, or 7.7% 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, 54 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $28,069.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
84% of graduates (137 of 164) were working in Washington one year after graduating. Prices in the Bellingham area are about 3% above the national average, so a $33,039 salary here buys what about $31,973 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
$50,420Median pay in Washington. 450 people work in this job in Washington. 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.
Sociologists
$97,170Median pay in Washington. 130 people work in this job in Washington. 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 Western Washington University
Sociology ranks 31st of 52 bachelor's programs at Western Washington University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($80,808), Electrical Engineering ($77,516), and Information Technology ($72,675).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $33,039 one year after graduating and $48,943 five years after. The median across sociology bachelor's programs in Washington is $34,496.
The median federal loan balance is $20,087, which ranks 2nd lowest of 8 sociology bachelor's programs in Washington. That works out to about $213 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 61% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Washington programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 84% (137 of 164) were working in Washington 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 Washington 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
- 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