---
title: Roanoke College — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Salem, VA
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Roanoke College

Salem, VA · Private nonprofit · 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 | $58,047 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $40,380 – $81,482 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $22,313 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $5,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 67% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $54,283 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 80% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.38× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $30,047 | derived |

**67% 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 $22,313 (≈ 38% 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 $20,889 to $44,873 across 10 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,873 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,923 | $26,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,514 | $26,820 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,311 | $27,000 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,415 | $27,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,147 | $27,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,545 | $27,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,496 | $27,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,241 | $27,000 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,889 | 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 Roanoke College by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?233426

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/roanoke-college-va.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`