SUNY Buffalo State University Outcomes: $53K Earnings (2026)

How much do SUNY Buffalo State University graduates earn?

The reported median is $53,203 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is -$4,098 per year.

Return is the weakest for SUNY Buffalo State University, at the 20th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings four years after completion are $53,203, which is at the 27th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That figure is $4,098 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $6,706 less than expects for similar students.

That gap places the university at the 29th 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 $922. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,628.

Earnings vary widely by field, so the school-wide picture does not capture every possible outcome. The downside earnings scenario is $46,437 and the upside scenario is $64,420, both four years after completion.

At the upper end, Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians has median earnings of $98,018, Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians reaches $82,242, and Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians reaches $73,327 four years after completion. Those field-level outcomes show why the modeled range is broad.

An estimated 27.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, an estimate derived from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Four-year earnings include federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, so this estimate sets a boundary on who appears in the earnings picture.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $53,203
Rank for difference from expectations: 29th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

SUNY Buffalo State University reported median: $53,203
Peer schools comparable schools · $4,098 above SUNY Buffalo State University: $57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $6,706 above SUNY Buffalo State University: $59,909

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: $46,437
Median · reported: $53,203
Higher estimate: $64,420

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 SUNY Buffalo 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.

SUNY Buffalo State University graduates’ reported earnings are $6,706 below that expectation, the 29th 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 SUNY Buffalo State University caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at SUNY Buffalo State University report the highest earnings?

The university’s larger programs show a wide spread in four-year earnings. Business Administration and Management had 147 degrees awarded and median earnings of $57,114 four years after completion; Azimuth ranks it #279 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Criminal Justice had 117 degrees awarded and median earnings of $56,034; Azimuth ranks it #77 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Teacher Education had 128 degrees awarded and median earnings of $51,209; Azimuth ranks it #77 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Liberal Arts and General Studies had 109 degrees awarded and median earnings of $46,705; Azimuth ranks it #148 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. These figures show a clear earnings contrast across the university’s larger fields.

SUNY Buffalo State University has 17 bachelor’s programs with Azimuth national ranks. Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians is ranked #4 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field, awarded 22 degrees, and has median earnings of $45,120 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians #33 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field; it awarded 32 degrees and shows $73,327 in median earnings four years after completion. Information Science/Studies ranks #44 nationally in its field, with 64 degrees awarded and median earnings of $64,628 four years after completion.

Further analysis

Field choice matters in earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix: the downside is $46,437, the typical scenario is $53,203, and the upside is $64,420. At the upper end, Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians has median earnings of $98,018 four years after completion; among the largest programs, Liberal Arts and General Studies is $46,705. The spread shows variation by field.

Graduate earnings at SUNY Buffalo State University sit low in the national distribution. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $53,203 four years after completion, based on an earnings cohort of 2,426.

Azimuth places that median in the 27th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,706 less than the model expects for similar students.

The typical earnings scenario matches the observed median; the downside scenario is $46,437, and the upside scenario is $64,420. An estimated 27.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

The low national earnings placement and the model comparison point in the same direction, though the scenarios show variation across the program mix.

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.