College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 45 colleges (45 of 45 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$29,443

Graduates only, early career.$32,569 two years out.

Median federal debt

$21,670

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.71×

71% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services report early-career pay between $26,004 and $35,935 — a spread of $9,931 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $26,004 median $29,443 75th pct $35,935

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 45 colleges $29,443 $21,670 0.71×

Master's 30 colleges $48,690 $33,459 0.75×

Grad cert. 6 colleges $47,776 $20,500 0.45×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Viterbo University WI $47,085 —

Eastern Michigan University MI $46,112 $27,871 debt

Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale FL $45,302 $43,424 debt

North Dakota State University-Main Campus ND $40,922 $26,625 debt

Ohio State University-Main Campus OH $39,954 $20,500 debt

Purdue University-Main Campus IN $38,807 $20,254 debt

SUNY Buffalo State University NY $38,709 $26,450 debt

University of North Dakota ND $37,354 —

University of Illinois Chicago IL $37,263 —

Youngstown State University OH $37,135 $27,729 debt

University of Akron Main Campus OH $36,289 $24,233 debt

Long Island University NY $35,935 —

CUNY Lehman College NY $33,203 $12,012 debt

Purdue University Global IN $33,198 $27,125 debt

Kansas State University KS $33,115 $24,197 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard