---
title: Is a Fire Protection degree worth the debt?
cip: 4302
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Fire Protection degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **18** colleges (18 of 18 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $57,522 ($49,787 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,922 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.39× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $43,087–$71,931 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Certificate | $40,182 | $4,576 | 0.13× | 20 | 20/20 |
| Associate's | $45,142 | $11,600 | 0.23× | 19 | 19/19 |
| Bachelor's | $57,522 | $23,922 | 0.39× | 18 | 18/18 |

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

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (IL) | $103,432 | $15,000 |
| Colorado State University-Fort Collins (CO) | $76,384 | — |
| Waldorf University (IA) | $74,071 | $18,750 |
| Purdue University Global (IN) | $73,459 | $29,363 |
| Oklahoma State University-Main Campus (OK) | $72,532 | $26,000 |
| Columbia Southern University (AL) | $70,128 | $20,895 |
| American Public University System (WV) | $61,979 | $23,688 |
| University of Florida (FL) | $61,715 | — |
| University of Florida-Online (FL) | $61,715 | — |
| Utah Valley University (UT) | $53,328 | $15,250 |
| Eastern Kentucky University (KY) | $48,702 | $27,000 |
| University of New Haven (CT) | $43,156 | $24,156 |
| CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice (NY) | $43,142 | — |
| California State University-Los Angeles (CA) | $43,069 | $12,500 |
| University of Akron Main Campus (OH) | $35,091 | $24,405 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/fire-protection.jsonld` · `/education/fields/fire-protection.json`