---
title: Appalachian State University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Boone, NC
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Appalachian State University

Boone, NC · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $51,836 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $36,495 – $74,305 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $15,750 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,050 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 75% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $23,169 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 75% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.30× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $23,836 | derived |

**75% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $15,750 (≈ 30% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $15,111 to $63,190 across 68 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Physics. | Master's Degree | $63,190 | not reported |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,824 | $22,500 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,623 | $12,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $57,587 | $27,533 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $57,036 | $17,978 |
| Construction Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,322 | $18,750 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,034 | $22,811 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $52,851 | $39,727 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,462 | $20,667 |
| Insurance. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,715 | $17,875 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. | Master's Degree | $47,827 | not reported |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $46,799 | $23,172 |
| Library Science and Administration. | Master's Degree | $46,613 | not reported |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services. | Master's Degree | $45,824 | $33,459 |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design. | Master's Degree | $45,396 | not reported |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Master's Degree | $44,980 | not reported |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $44,318 | $19,580 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,199 | $20,500 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,724 | $20,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,088 | $19,590 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $39,964 | $19,513 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,491 | $18,864 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,586 | $26,691 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,477 | $18,750 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $38,186 | not reported |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $38,092 | $27,879 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,051 | $16,500 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $37,631 | not reported |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $37,238 | $30,738 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,105 | $24,096 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $37,036 | not reported |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,293 | $19,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,815 | $20,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,741 | $21,729 |
| Food Science and Technology. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,535 | not reported |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,503 | $18,125 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,417 | $21,435 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,283 | $21,500 |
| Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,081 | $22,156 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,552 | $22,291 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,116 | $23,894 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,537 | $22,096 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,168 | $18,836 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,266 | $21,945 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,352 | $18,066 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,268 | $20,750 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,824 | $19,641 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,405 | $22,700 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,326 | $21,500 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,883 | $19,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,318 | $20,500 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,938 | $19,229 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,416 | $20,222 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,806 | $20,294 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,496 | $19,120 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,141 | $20,354 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,764 | $19,500 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,716 | $22,995 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,973 | $20,500 |
| International/Globalization Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,334 | $19,500 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,250 | $20,499 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,709 | not reported |
| Music. | Master's Degree | $19,708 | not reported |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,651 | $21,531 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $17,245 | $20,625 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $16,665 | $23,487 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $15,835 | $22,267 |
| Philosophy. | Bachelor's Degree | $15,111 | not reported |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Appalachian State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?197869

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/appalachian-state-university-nc.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`