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

# Salem State University

Salem, MA · 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 | $56,662 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $29,605 – $93,086 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $19,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,750 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 50% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $28,291 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 73% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.34× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $28,662 | derived |

**50% 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 $19,500 (≈ 34% 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 $26,296 to $90,183 across 30 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $90,183 | $26,375 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $69,242 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,690 | $27,000 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $61,511 | $53,255 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $59,356 | $16,500 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,461 | $26,250 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $50,049 | $40,594 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $48,859 | $32,512 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $47,960 | $15,041 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $47,191 | $19,649 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $46,645 | $20,658 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,346 | $25,750 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,434 | $24,250 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $42,114 | $40,844 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,673 | not reported |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,277 | $21,750 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,411 | $26,500 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,013 | not reported |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,789 | not reported |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,767 | $25,250 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,115 | $24,991 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,933 | $25,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,517 | $22,749 |
| Education, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,059 | $25,500 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,040 | $21,500 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,902 | $25,450 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,329 | $24,847 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,497 | $26,250 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,151 | $27,000 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,296 | $25,874 |

## 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 Salem State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?167729

---

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