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

# Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS · 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 | $57,262 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $38,852 – $82,952 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $17,294 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $10,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 71% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $27,402 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 79% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.30× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $29,262 | derived |

**71% 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 $17,294 (≈ 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 $20,448 to $85,993 across 76 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $85,993 | $31,968 |
| Food Science and Technology. | Master's Degree | $75,367 | not reported |
| Industrial Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,147 | $24,399 |
| Agricultural Business and Management. | Master's Degree | $71,816 | not reported |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,780 | $24,000 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,776 | $24,500 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,831 | $21,000 |
| Architectural Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,390 | $26,726 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,854 | $25,000 |
| Agricultural and Food Products Processing. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,969 | $23,250 |
| Construction Engineering Technology/Technician. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,948 | $27,000 |
| Information Science/Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,745 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,670 | $22,116 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Master's Degree | $63,726 | not reported |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,353 | $25,000 |
| Agricultural Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,356 | $18,757 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $56,777 | $18,500 |
| Food Science and Technology. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,044 | $23,187 |
| Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,562 | $21,950 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,192 | $23,000 |
| Architecture. | Master's Degree | $52,409 | not reported |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,995 | $21,500 |
| Music. | Master's Degree | $51,217 | not reported |
| Agricultural Mechanization. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,141 | $19,344 |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,998 | $25,000 |
| Air Transportation. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,850 | $20,500 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $50,493 | $24,768 |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Master's Degree | $49,232 | not reported |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,232 | $23,250 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $46,916 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,241 | $22,982 |
| Agricultural Business and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,913 | $18,500 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,778 | $22,375 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $43,914 | $24,630 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $43,832 | $23,050 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,358 | $20,000 |
| Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,211 | $20,150 |
| Plant Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,883 | $21,500 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $42,444 | $34,300 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,741 | not reported |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,897 | $20,625 |
| Agricultural Public Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,599 | not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Master's Degree | $39,029 | not reported |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,785 | $22,186 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,771 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,712 | $21,500 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,052 | $22,500 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,025 | $21,656 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,005 | $24,519 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,947 | $23,408 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,897 | not reported |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,706 | $24,250 |
| Nutrition Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,001 | $21,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,824 | $22,681 |
| Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,223 | not reported |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,997 | $21,000 |
| Animal Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,928 | $20,500 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,465 | $21,500 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,165 | $22,746 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,115 | $24,197 |
| Gerontology. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,287 | $24,083 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,845 | $21,202 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,530 | $17,500 |
| Social Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,437 | $23,500 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,336 | $19,875 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,101 | $23,000 |
| Zoology/Animal Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,468 | $21,750 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,431 | $21,500 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,147 | $18,900 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,951 | $27,000 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,881 | $16,789 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,485 | $21,531 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,270 | not reported |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,160 | not reported |
| Natural Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,898 | $20,500 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,448 | $20,500 |

## 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 Kansas State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?155399

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