---
title: Is a Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services degree worth the debt?
cip: 1905
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 Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **43** colleges (43 of 43 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $29,088 ($31,894 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,616 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.77× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $25,802–$32,511 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $29,088 | $22,616 | 0.77× | 43 | 43/43 |
| Master's | $49,450 | $33,795 | 0.76× | 17 | 17/17 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Akron Main Campus (OH) | $41,497 | — |
| University of Delaware (DE) | $38,909 | $25,250 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (MN) | $36,815 | — |
| Framingham State University (MA) | $36,565 | $23,125 |
| Texas Woman's University (TX) | $36,148 | $14,104 |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus (OH) | $34,517 | $22,000 |
| University of Arkansas (AR) | $34,463 | $21,250 |
| Stephen F Austin State University (TX) | $34,443 | $24,250 |
| Seattle Pacific University (WA) | $33,992 | — |
| Montclair State University (NJ) | $33,787 | $22,616 |
| Johnson & Wales University-Providence (RI) | $32,511 | $27,000 |
| Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte (NC) | $32,511 | $27,000 |
| Johnson & Wales University-Online (RI) | $32,511 | $27,000 |
| Ohio University-Main Campus (OH) | $31,018 | $24,780 |
| Texas State University (TX) | $30,877 | $22,500 |

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/foods-nutrition-and-related-services.jsonld` · `/education/fields/foods-nutrition-and-related-services.json`