Central State University Outcomes: $43K Earnings (2026)

How much do Central State University graduates earn?

The reported median is $42,843 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is -$14,458 per year.

Access is the stronger at Central State University, but its return figures point the other way. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $42,843 four years after completion, in the 7th percentile.

Azimuth puts the return pillar in the 6th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,286 less than expects for similar students, an earnings-beyond-expectations result—the gap between graduate earnings and model expectations for similar students—in the 21st percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $1,159. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,127.

The school's median is $14,458 below the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $57,301.

Published program medians show a spread within Central State University offerings four years after completion: Social Work at $47,853, Criminal Justice at $46,914, and Journalism at $36,311. The program-mix model sets a downside earnings scenario at $41,684 and an upside scenario at $57,813.

These are scenarios rather than observed groups of graduates; the program medians and modeled range describe variation across available fields rather than one uniform outcome.

Program mix suggests an estimated 24.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, so the reported median does not include those continuing their education.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $42,843
Rank for difference from expectations: 21st percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Central State University reported median: $42,843
Peer schools comparable schools · $14,458 above Central State University: $57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $9,286 above Central State University: $52,129

School and program earnings use pooled 2017–18 and 2018–19 completion cohorts, measured in 2022 and 2023 and expressed in 2024 dollars. How the model works.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $41,684
Median · reported: $42,843
Higher estimate: $57,813

Downside shows a lower-earning scenario based on the college’s mix of programs; upside shows a higher-earning scenario. Typical is the school’s reported median four years after completion. These are planning scenarios, not a forecast of your salary or percentiles of individual graduates.

Why the downside matters explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. Read about the move to four-year earnings.

Do Central State University graduates earn more than expected?

Azimuth models what we would expect graduates to earn based on who the college enrolls, how selective it is and its local economy. The difference between that expectation and reported earnings is what Azimuth calls value added.

Central State University graduates’ reported earnings are $9,286 below that expectation, the 21st percentile for this measure. Unlike a peer comparison, it adjusts for who enrolls.

The breakdown separates the contribution attributed to observed factors from the remaining difference. Neither component establishes how much attending Central State University caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Central State University report the highest earnings?

At Central State University, the higher end of published program earnings sits in Social Work and Criminal Justice, though neither has the largest degree count. Four years after completion, Social Work had median earnings of $47,853 across 14 degrees awarded.

Criminal Justice posted $46,914 with 112 degrees awarded. Business/Commerce accounted for 143 degrees awarded and had median earnings of $44,662 four years after completion.

At a more moderate earnings level, Psychology recorded $39,628 across 26 degrees awarded. The figures show that the largest program is not the highest-earning one, and earnings differ across these fields.

Business accounts for 33.4% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, making it the largest program family. Published earnings data cover 5 fields.

Four years after completion, Business/Commerce had 143 degrees awarded and median earnings of $44,662; Criminal Justice, 112 degrees awarded and $46,914; Psychology, 26 degrees awarded and $39,628; Journalism, 21 degrees awarded and $36,311; and Social Work, 14 degrees awarded and $47,853. The earnings picture differs across these fields, including among the largest degree producers.

Further analysis

Program mix grounds downside, typical, and upside earnings scenarios of $41,684, $42,843, and $57,813. At the high end, Social Work has median earnings of $47,853 four years after completion; among the largest programs with published earnings, Journalism is lowest at $36,311. The span shows how much modeled earnings can vary by field.

Central State University posts median earnings of $42,843 four years after completion among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 7th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 218 completers.

Graduates earn about $9,286 less than the model expects for similar students. Modeled from the program mix, the typical scenario matches the observed median rather than representing an observed group.

An estimated 24.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The low earnings percentile and below-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.