Which Georgia journalism program has the lowest debt?

University of Georgia reports the lowest median federal debt, $21,120, with first-year pay of $36,636.

How much do journalism graduates earn in Georgia?

The median across 8 Georgia journalism bachelor's programs is $31,800 in the first year after graduating and $49,630 five years after.

How many journalism bachelor's programs are in Georgia?

8 Georgia programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

Journalism (Bachelor's) Programs in Georgia, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

8 programs report first-year pay
8 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Journalism

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Georgia journalism bachelor's program pays its graduates $31,800 in their first year, $2,716 less than the national median. Georgia College reports the highest first-year pay ($38,603), and University of Georgia the lowest median debt ($21,120).

Median first-year pay$31,800National $34,515

Median pay after 5 years$49,630National $53,282

Median federal debt$26,500National $24,500

Debt-to-earnings80%National 67%

All 8 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Georgia CollegeMilledgeville · public	$38,603	$55,713	$25,000	65%
2	University of GeorgiaAthens · public	$36,636	$61,753	$21,120	58%
3	Georgia Southern UniversityStatesboro · public	$33,798	$49,630	$27,000	80%
4	Mercer UniversityMacon · private nonprofit	$32,807	Not reported	$26,000	79%
5	Kennesaw StateKennesaw · public	$30,792	Not reported	$24,700	80%
6	Georgia StateAtlanta · public	$28,416	$50,652	$27,000	95%
7	University of West GeorgiaCarrollton · public	$27,268	$48,565	$27,000	99%
8	Savannah StateSavannah · public	$24,310	$48,748	$33,000	136%

Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia journalism program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to journalism, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Editors

$76,650

Median pay in Georgia. 1,920 people work in this job in Georgia. 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%: $46,080Top 10%: $124,000

Photographers

$43,770

Median pay in Georgia. 1,420 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $22,690Top 10%: $103,550

Writers and Authors

$74,710

Median pay in Georgia. 820 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $38,460Top 10%: $133,540

News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists

$81,910

Median pay in Georgia. 1,520 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $38,280Top 10%: $161,040

Common questions

Georgia College in Milledgeville reports the highest median first-year pay, $38,603. Its median federal debt is $25,000.

Journalism (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked170 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 Georgia rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the journalism bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024