---
title: Is a Forestry degree worth the debt?
cip: 0305
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 Forestry degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **33** colleges (33 of 33 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $38,479 ($38,289 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $20,582 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.52× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $35,706–$40,805 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Associate's | $34,613 | $12,000 | 0.37× | 3 | 3/3 |
| Bachelor's | $38,479 | $20,582 | 0.52× | 33 | 33/33 |
| Master's | $47,213 | — | — | 5 | 5/5 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh (NC) | $54,960 | $21,750 |
| Auburn University (AL) | $47,039 | $18,750 |
| Clemson University (SC) | $43,121 | $22,875 |
| University of Georgia (GA) | $42,980 | $14,500 |
| University of Maine (ME) | $42,908 | $23,269 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Penn State DuBois (PA) | $41,479 | $20,089 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus (PA) | $41,479 | $20,089 |
| Mississippi State University (MS) | $41,301 | $19,000 |
| California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt (CA) | $40,805 | $21,000 |
| West Virginia University (WV) | $40,623 | $20,500 |
| Oregon State University (OR) | $39,710 | — |
| Oregon State University-Cascades Campus (OR) | $39,710 | — |
| Iowa State University (IA) | $39,406 | $18,750 |
| Michigan Technological University (MI) | $39,262 | $25,500 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (MN) | $39,187 | $19,500 |

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/forestry.jsonld` · `/education/fields/forestry.json`