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Career outcomes brief

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# Salem State University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated September 30, 2026

[Overview](/school/salem-state-university/)[Cost & aid](/school/salem-state-university/cost/)Outcomes[Admissions](/school/salem-state-university/admissions/)[Majors](/school/salem-state-university/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/salem-state-university/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much do Salem State University graduates earn?

The reported median is $62,605 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is $5,304 per year.

At Salem State University, return measures point upward, with Azimuth placing the return pillar in the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $8,968 more than the model expects for similar students.

[Earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, stands in the 81st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,926.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $6,042. Median earnings are $62,605 four years after completion, in the 59th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301, leaving earnings $5,304 above it.

The range of earnings scenarios shows that field choice can change the financial picture at Salem State University. The downside earnings scenario is $50,449, compared with an upside scenario of $85,189; both are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups.

At the program level, median earnings four years after completion are $95,550 in Nursing, $92,380 in Computer and Information Sciences, and $67,789 in Business Administration and Management. Those program figures help explain the breadth of the modeled range.

Four-year earnings describe completers who are working and not enrolled. An estimated 30.7% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

That estimate places the reported earnings alongside a group whose further study keeps them outside that measure.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$62,605

**Rank for difference from expectations**
81st percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**Salem State University reported median**
$62,605

**Peer schools comparable schools · $5,304 below Salem State University**
$57,301

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $8,968 below Salem State University**
$53,637

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](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

## How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $50,449 to $85,189, around the reported median of $62,605. Compare the lower scenario with [Salem State University borrowing and monthly payments](/school/salem-state-university/cost/) to see how a smaller income could change your plan.

Modeled from the school’s program mix; not salary percentiles or a forecast for one graduate.

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

**Lower estimate**
$50,449

**Median · reported**
$62,605

**Higher estimate**
$85,189

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](/analysis/median-roi-hides-a-harsh-reality/) explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. [Read about the move to four-year earnings](/analysis/college-scorecard-2026-4-year-vs-10-year-earnings-2-2/).

## Do Salem 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](/methodology/#value-added).

Salem State University graduates’ reported earnings are $8,968 above that expectation, the 81st 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 Salem State University caused a student to earn. [Read how expected earnings are estimated](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

What explains value-added earnings?

**Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.**
+$2,926

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
+$6,042

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
+$8,968

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

## Which fields at Salem State University report the highest earnings?

Program earnings at Salem State University range across social science and health-related fields four years after completion. Geography and Cartography reports median earnings of $58,593 and 27 degrees awarded.

[Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) it #34 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Social Work recorded $60,026 with 48 degrees awarded; Azimuth places it #27 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Criminal Justice had median earnings of $59,774 across 81 degrees awarded and holds an Azimuth rank of #46 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Health and Medical Administrative Services recorded $55,323 and 38 degrees awarded, ranking #56 nationally by Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. The figures show distinct earnings levels across these fields.

Salem State University has 13 ranked bachelor’s fields, led by Social Work. [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) Social Work #27 nationally in its field among nonprofit four-year institutions; it awarded 48 degrees and its completers had median earnings of $60,026 four years after completion.

Geography and Cartography ranks #34 in its field, with 27 degrees awarded and median earnings of $58,593. Criminal Justice is ranked #46 by Azimuth, with 81 degrees awarded and $59,774 in median earnings four years after completion.

Health and Medical Administrative Services ranks #56, awarded 38 degrees, and shows median earnings of $55,323. The ranked fields span different earnings levels, making field choice especially important here.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing**
$95,550

**Computer and Information Sciences, General**
$92,380

**Business Administration, Management and Operations**
$67,789

**Biology, General**
$67,551

**Mathematics**
$61,259

**Social Work**
$60,026

**Criminal Justice and Corrections**
$59,774

**Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences**
$59,424

[Explore Salem State University program cohorts and field ranks](/school/salem-state-university/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Field choice shapes the earnings scenarios: grounded in the program mix, the downside scenario is $50,449, the typical scenario is $62,605, and the upside scenario is $85,189. Nursing anchors the high end at $95,550 four years after completion, whereas Psychology is the lowest-earning of the largest programs at $54,717. The spread shows substantial variation by field.

Salem State University has an earnings record that lands above the middle of the nonprofit four-year sector, with outcomes shaped by a range of program paths. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $62,605 four years after completion.

Azimuth places those earnings in the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions; the measure draws on an earnings cohort of 2,346 completers. The program-mix model sets a typical earnings scenario at $62,605, with a downside scenario of $50,449 and an upside scenario of $85,189.

These are earnings scenarios, not observed groups. An estimated 30.7% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The above-middle earnings placement and the modeled range show a school-level result with substantial variation across academic paths.

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), 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](/about/).