Williams College Chemistry (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Chemistry
- Private nonprofit college
- Williamstown, MA
- About 29 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Williams College chemistry graduates earn about what chemistry graduates earn nationally, $40,840 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $12,000 in federal loans, less than at 96% of chemistry programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying chemistry degrees in Massachusetts.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Massachusetts and national columns are the medians across all chemistry bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Williams College graduates earn more than the national figure but about $7,430 less than the Massachusetts median. Several Massachusetts programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts chemistry program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Massachusetts 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 69% 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 $127 a month, or 3.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Pittsfield area are about 5% below the national average, so a $40,840 salary here buys what about $42,942 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 chemistry, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$95,260Median pay in Massachusetts. 28,460 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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.
Data Scientists
$131,750Median pay in Massachusetts. 9,420 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 35% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Natural Sciences Managers
$267,290Median pay in Massachusetts. 10,590 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
$100,640Median pay in Massachusetts. 2,930 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Williams College
Chemistry ranks 8th of 11 bachelor's programs at Williams College by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($110,814), Economics ($80,888), and Political Science ($56,817).
Other chemistry bachelor's programs near Williamstown
Common questions
The median graduate earns $40,840 one year after graduating and $68,979 five years after. The median across chemistry bachelor's programs in Massachusetts is $47,313.
The median federal loan balance is $12,000, which ranks the lowest of 7 chemistry bachelor's programs in Massachusetts. That works out to about $127 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 29% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Massachusetts programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
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 Massachusetts 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 chemistry 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