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Career outcomes brief

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# SUNY Oneonta Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated September 30, 2026

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

**On this page**+

## How much do SUNY Oneonta graduates earn?

The reported median is $58,809 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is $1,508 per year.

Mobility is SUNY Oneonta's strongest pillar, but the return measures offer a mixed reading. Graduates earn about $12,103 less than the model expects for similar students.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, [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—falls in the 14th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,323.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $14,426. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth assigns the return pillar to the 33rd percentile.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $58,809 four years after completion, in the 47th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301; SUNY Oneonta stands $1,508 above it. Peer earnings are higher, though the model’s expectation measure points lower.

The modeled earnings range at SUNY Oneonta is wide: the downside scenario is $48,048, and the upside scenario is $73,972. Both figures are scenarios based on the program mix, not observed graduate groups.

Among individual fields, median earnings four years after completion are $90,128 for Accounting, $80,041 for Physics, and $72,651 for Mathematics. These field results help show the variation behind the modeled range.

An estimated 31.1% 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 graduates continuing their education are outside that earnings measure.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$58,809

**Rank for difference from expectations**
14th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**SUNY Oneonta reported median**
$58,809

**Peer schools comparable schools · $1,508 below SUNY Oneonta**
$57,301

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $12,103 above SUNY Oneonta**
$70,912

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 many SUNY Oneonta students return and finish their degrees?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2024-25

**Completed within six years**
69.7%

**Pell recipients completed within six years**
62.6%

Source: SUNY Oneonta Common Data Set 2024-25, B4–B11 six-year completion.

## How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $48,048 to $73,972, around the reported median of $58,809. Compare the lower scenario with [SUNY Oneonta borrowing and monthly payments](/school/suny-oneonta/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**
$48,048

**Median · reported**
$58,809

**Higher estimate**
$73,972

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 SUNY Oneonta 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).

SUNY Oneonta graduates’ reported earnings are $12,103 below that expectation, the 14th 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 Oneonta 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.**
+$2,323

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$14,426

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
\-$12,103

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

## Which fields at SUNY Oneonta report the highest earnings?

The earnings spread across SUNY Oneonta's largest programs is wide, and the highest-paid fields are not the ones awarding the most degrees. Accounting graduates earn a median of $90,128 four years after completion, but the program awards only 12 degrees a year.

Psychology, the largest program at 181 degrees awarded, posts a median of $51,355 and an Azimuth national rank of #153 within its field. Business/Managerial Economics and Biology sit at the higher-earning end among the larger programs, with medians of $70,986 and $71,874 and Azimuth national ranks of #20 and #36, respectively.

Teacher Education, awarding 179 degrees, lands in the middle at $58,496 and holds a strong Azimuth national rank of #18 in its field. A student's field choice here carries a larger earnings consequence than the institution-level median alone would suggest.

SUNY Oneonta has 14 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, and the strongest of them sits in dietetics and clinical nutrition services. Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services ranks #1 in its field among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 22 degrees awarded and median earnings of $64,048 four years after completion.

Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management also ranks #7 nationally, though its completers earn $47,324 — a reminder that a strong rank and high earnings do not always travel together. The largest programs tell a different story.

Psychology awards 181 degrees a year and ranks #153 nationally, while Teacher Education awards 179 degrees and ranks #18. The highest earnings come from a much smaller program: Accounting graduates earn $90,128 four years out, from just 12 degrees a year.

Across all fields, Education accounts for 18.2% of bachelor's degrees, followed by Psychology at 12.2% and Visual & Performing Arts at 11.4%.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Accounting and Related Services**
$90,128

**Physics**
$80,041

**Mathematics**
$72,651

**Biology, General**
$71,874

**Business/Managerial Economics**
$70,986

**Political Science and Government**
$66,572

**Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas**
$66,128

**Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences**
$64,410

[Explore SUNY Oneonta program cohorts and field ranks](/school/suny-oneonta/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix put the downside at $48,048, the typical scenario at $58,809, and the upside at $73,972. Accounting reaches $90,128 four years after completion, while Psychology is the lowest-earning largest program at $51,355. The spread shows variation by field.

SUNY Oneonta graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $58,809 four years after completing a degree. That is $1,508 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The median comes from 1,828 federally aided completers and lands at the 47th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $12,103 less than the model expects for similar students.

This metric compares actual pay with what the model predicts for comparable students. That places the gap at the 14th percentile.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $48,048 to $73,972, with a typical scenario of $58,809. An estimated 31.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

## 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/).