Applied/Public Sociology Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Applied/Public Sociology maps to BLS occupations averaging about $94,043, with roughly 754,270 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $9,572; common paths include Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary and Public Safety Telecommunicators.
Key Statistics
Applied/Public Sociology: what the data shows
Common questions about applied/public sociology degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a applied/public sociology degree?
A Applied/Public Sociology program is classified under NCES CIP 45.1102 in the Sociology field family (45.11).
A program that focuses on the application of sociological theory, methods, skills, and research to resolve particular issues in real-world settings. Includes instruction in data collection, group and organizational dynamics, participatory action research, program evaluation, sociological research methods, and sociological theory
IPEDS counted 72 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of applied/public sociology degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 45.11 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Rural Sociology (CIP 45.1103)
- Sociology (CIP 45.1101)
How long does it take to get a applied/public sociology degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 45.1102 in our file:
- 72 Bachelor's (75.0% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 24 Master's (25.0% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 45.1102, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a applied/public sociology degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Applied/Public Sociology to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary | 12,380 | $82,540 |
| Public Safety Telecommunicators | 101,140 | $50,730 |
| Public Relations Specialists | 280,590 | $69,780 |
| Psychiatric Aides | 34,900 | $41,590 |
| Instructional Coordinators | 210,850 | $74,720 |
| Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | 114,410 | $61,430 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a applied/public sociology degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Sociology bachelor's program family: median debt $23,603, median earnings $52,657 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.69.
About 5.6% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $9,572 and median net price is $17,249.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Applied/Public Sociology and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$9,572 Median In-State Public
$43,544 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Applied/Public Sociology majors are, on average, $9,572 for in-state public colleges, and $43,544 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Applied/Public Sociology programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Applied/Public Sociology from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Applied/Public Sociology.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
| 2 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 4 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 5 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Applied/Public Sociology programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Taft College | CA | $1,108 |
| 3 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 4 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 5 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Applied/Public Sociology programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 3 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 4 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 5 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,115 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Applied/Public Sociology programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Applied/Public Sociology programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Applied/Public Sociology is in TX (41 completions). That state represents about 56.9% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is NC (0.03% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| TX | 41 | 56.9% | 0.01% |
| NC | 31 | 43.1% | 0.03% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 45.11 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Rural Sociology CIP 45.1103
- Sociology CIP 45.1101
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 45.1102 in the survey year used in our extract (96 total across levels below).
- 72 Bachelor's (75.0% of IPEDS total)
- 24 Master's (25.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $94,043. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Applied/Public Sociology graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary | $141,771 | 12,380 |
| Public Safety Telecommunicators | $81,733 | 101,140 |
| Public Relations Specialists | $95,096 | 280,590 |
| Psychiatric Aides | $51,699 | 34,900 |
| Instructional Coordinators | $104,217 | 210,850 |
| Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | $91,347 | 114,410 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Sociology CIP family (135 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Applied/Public Sociology graduate.
- $23,603 median federal loan debt among completers
- $52,657 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.69 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 5.6% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$94,043 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Applied/Public Sociology majors is $94,043.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Applied/Public Sociology majors.
Occupations by Share
754,270 2023 Workforce
The number of Applied/Public Sociology graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Applied/Public Sociology by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Applied/Public Sociology in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Applied/Public Sociology.
Age distribution for Applied/Public Sociology degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
72 Total Degrees Awarded
13 Male (18.06%)
59 Female (81.94%)
Gender distribution of Applied/Public Sociology degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
37 White (51.39%)
17 Hispanic or Latino (23.61%)
13 Black or African American (18.06%)
3 Two or More Races (4.17%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Applied/Public Sociology degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Applied/Public Sociology are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Applied/Public Sociology.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Applied/Public Sociology field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Applied/Public Sociology majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Applied/Public Sociology majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Applied/Public Sociology majors.
About
A program that focuses on the application of sociological theory, methods, skills, and research to resolve particular issues in real-world settings. Includes instruction in data collection, group and organizational dynamics, participatory action research, program evaluation, sociological research methods, and sociological theory
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Applied/Public Sociology.
CIP Code
45.1102 - Applied/Public Sociology
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $23,603 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $52,657, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.69. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Applied/Public Sociology graduate.
Women earned 81.9% of 105 Applied/Public Sociology completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $94,043. The largest mapped role by headcount is Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary (12,380 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,572 in-state at public colleges and $43,544 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.