Career outcomes brief

University of Nebraska at Kearney Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated September 30, 2026

How much do University of Nebraska at Kearney graduates earn?

The reported median is $56,647 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is -$654 per year.

The return picture at University of Nebraska at Kearney is about average among nonprofit four-year institutions, with the at the 54th percentile. Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $56,647, which is in the 38th percentile.

That median sits $654 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $2,449 more than expects for similar students, placing the gap at the 64th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,962. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,513. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $148.

At University of Nebraska at Kearney, earnings scenarios show a wide spread in earnings by program mix, from $43,994 in the downside scenario to $68,750 in the upside scenario. The typical earnings scenario is $56,647, and each is a model rather than an observed group.

Published program medians help show that variation four years after completion: Allied Health Professions completers earn $77,034, Biology completers earn $67,151, and Business Administration and Management completers earn $64,684. Field choice is closely tied to where an outcome falls within the modeled range.

Graduate study is part of how to read the four-year earnings figure. An estimated 27.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Because the earnings measure includes completers who are working and not enrolled, it does not include those continuing their education.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $56,647
Rank for difference from expectations: 64th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

University of Nebraska at Kearney reported median: $56,647
Peer schools comparable schools · $654 above University of Nebraska at Kearney: $57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $2,449 below University of Nebraska at Kearney: $54,198

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: $43,994
Median · reported: $56,647
Higher estimate: $68,750

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 University of Nebraska at Kearney 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.

University of Nebraska at Kearney graduates’ reported earnings are $2,449 above that expectation, the 64th 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 University of Nebraska at Kearney caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at University of Nebraska at Kearney report the highest earnings?

Program earnings vary sharply across the university's nationally ranked fields, so the field of study matters to the return picture. Four years after completion, Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies reports median earnings of $54,563 from 53 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #9 among nonprofit four-year institutions nationally within its field.

Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies posts $49,584 and 34 degrees awarded, with an Azimuth rank of #10 among nonprofit four-year institutions nationally within its field. Allied Health Professions has median earnings of $77,034 across 45 degrees awarded and ranks #33 by Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions nationally within its field.

The third field shows the highest earnings of the three, while the first two fields are more moderate.

University of Nebraska at Kearney has 10 nationally ranked bachelor's programs. The strongest is Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies, which Azimuth ranks #9 in its field and #1 in Nebraska.

It awarded 53 degrees and its completers earned a median of $54,563 four years after completion. The largest program is Business Administration and Management, with 181 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #165 nationally and #2 in Nebraska, and its median earnings are $64,684. Allied Health Professions is the third ranked program, at #33 nationally and #1 in Nebraska. It awarded 45 degrees, with median earnings of $77,034.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions: $77,034
Biology, General: $67,151
Business Administration, Management and Operations: $64,684
Computer and Information Sciences, General: $61,988
Agricultural Business and Management: $61,438
Criminal Justice and Corrections: $55,356
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies: $54,563
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services: $53,348

Explore University of Nebraska at Kearney program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

At University of Nebraska at Kearney, earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix run from a downside of $43,994 to a typical outcome of $56,647 and an upside of $68,750. Variation by field appears among large programs: Allied Health Professions reports median earnings of $77,034 four years after completion, whereas Teacher Education reports $41,922.

At University of Nebraska at Kearney, graduates post median earnings of $56,647 four years after completion, a measure for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. This is an earnings result near the middle of the national distribution rather than a record of every alumnus.

Azimuth puts the four-year median in the 38th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The underlying earnings cohort contains 1,226 completers.

Graduates earn about $2,449 more than the model expects for similar students. The program-mix model sets a typical earnings scenario at $56,647, alongside a downside scenario of $43,994 and an upside scenario of $68,750.

An estimated 27.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The model points to a wide range of possible earnings outcomes by field.

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.