---
title: Is a Sociology degree worth the debt?
cip: 4511
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Sociology degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **465** colleges (465 of 465 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $30,586 ($31,834 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.72× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $28,181–$33,292 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $30,586 | $22,500 | 0.72× | 465 | 465/465 |
| Master's | $39,819 | $40,642 | 0.92× | 7 | 7/7 |

## Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Duke University (NC) | $60,357 | — |
| Harvard University (MA) | $58,277 | — |
| Columbia University in the City of New York (NY) | $53,374 | $27,000 |
| Dartmouth College (NH) | $49,859 | $19,250 |
| DePauw University (IN) | $46,689 | — |
| Princeton University (NJ) | $44,901 | — |
| North Dakota State University-Main Campus (ND) | $44,462 | $23,324 |
| Colgate University (NY) | $44,031 | — |
| Barnard College (NY) | $43,701 | $14,899 |
| University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $43,668 | — |
| Brandeis University (MA) | $42,477 | $27,000 |
| University of California-Berkeley (CA) | $42,238 | $13,000 |
| New York University (NY) | $42,066 | $18,875 |
| University of San Francisco (CA) | $42,058 | $24,125 |
| St. Mary's College of Maryland (MD) | $41,641 | — |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/sociology.jsonld` · `/education/fields/sociology.json`