Valdosta State University Outcomes: $56K Earnings (2026)

How much do Valdosta State University graduates earn?

The reported median is $56,067 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is -$1,234 per year.

Access is the strongest at Valdosta State University, but four years after completion, completers earn about $4,665 less than expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what completers earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 38th 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 $4,485. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,150.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 29th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Median earnings four years after completion are $56,067, in the 36th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301, with earnings $1,234 below it. The peer comparison and the model result point in the same direction.

Program choice marks a broad modeled earnings spread at the university. The downside earnings scenario is $39,355 and the upside scenario is $67,749; both are scenarios estimated from the program mix rather than observed groups of graduates.

At the higher end, median earnings four years after completion are $77,890 in Nursing, $75,310 in Computer and Information Sciences, and $71,257 in Information Science/Studies. Those program medians sit above the downside scenario.

An estimated 27.6% 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 this estimate matters when reading the reported earnings figure.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $56,067
Rank for difference from expectations: 38th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Valdosta State University reported median: $56,067
Peer schools comparable schools · $1,234 above Valdosta State University: $57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $4,665 above Valdosta State University: $60,732

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: $39,355
Median · reported: $56,067
Higher estimate: $67,749

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 Valdosta 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.

Valdosta State University graduates’ reported earnings are $4,665 below that expectation, the 38th 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 Valdosta State University caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Valdosta State University report the highest earnings?

The highest-earning programs at Valdosta State University are in health and technology, but the largest programs by degrees awarded sit in business and the social sciences. Nursing leads with median earnings of $77,890 four years after completion, from 76 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #285 nationally within its field. Sociology and Anthropology awards 37 degrees and posts median earnings of $41,619, ranking #2 nationally within its field.

The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awards 212 degrees and posts median earnings of $56,047, placing it #288 nationally within its field. At the more moderate end, Liberal Arts and General Studies reports $40,044 from 80 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #188 nationally within its field. The spread between the top-earning and largest programs highlights the variation in four-year earnings across fields.

Program rankings show several fields with distinct outcomes at Valdosta State University, which has 18 nationally ranked bachelor’s fields. Azimuth ranks Sociology and Anthropology #2 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field; 37 degrees were awarded, and median earnings four years after completion were $41,619.

Azimuth ranks Health and Medical Administrative Services #67 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field; 39 degrees were awarded, with median earnings of $53,281 four years after completion. Communication Disorders Sciences and Services ranks #104 nationally in Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field, awarded 39 degrees, and had median earnings of $55,426 four years after completion.

The three ranked fields pair different award volumes with different earnings levels.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix put the downside at $39,355, the typical outcome at $56,067, and the upside at $67,749. Nursing is at $77,890 four years after completion, while Liberal Arts and General Studies is at $40,044. The spread shows how much earnings can vary by field.

Valdosta State University has graduate earnings below the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $56,067 four years after completion, based on an earnings cohort of 1,650 completers.

Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 36th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios based on the program mix run from $39,355 on the downside to $67,749 on the upside, rather than describing observed groups.

An estimated 27.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is also below the benchmark.

Graduates earn about $4,665 less than the model expects for similar students. The earnings percentile and model comparison both point to a return picture that merits close attention.

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.