---
title: Is a Public Health degree worth the debt?
cip: 5122
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 Public Health degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **189** colleges (189 of 189 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $32,103 ($33,032 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,875 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.70× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $29,498–$36,267 — 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 | $27,723 | $23,340 | 0.84× | 19 | 19/19 |
| Bachelor's | $32,103 | $23,875 | 0.70× | 189 | 189/189 |
| Master's | $50,450 | $41,000 | 0.81× | 180 | 180/180 |
| Doctoral | $85,804 | $58,350 | 0.75× | 8 | 8/8 |
| Professional | $52,762 | $57,612 | 0.97× | 4 | 4/4 |
| Grad cert. | $58,726 | $40,126 | 0.61× | 8 | 8/8 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Utah State University (UT) | $67,218 | — |
| Oakland University (MI) | $61,508 | $31,000 |
| Illinois State University (IL) | $51,383 | $20,009 |
| Colorado State University-Fort Collins (CO) | $47,766 | — |
| Montana Technological University (MT) | $47,640 | $26,500 |
| Walden University (MN) | $47,197 | $35,750 |
| Simmons University (MA) | $45,844 | $27,000 |
| Missouri Southern State University (MO) | $45,227 | — |
| Santa Clara University (CA) | $45,119 | $24,500 |
| University of Central Oklahoma (OK) | $45,015 | $18,000 |
| University of California-Berkeley (CA) | $44,447 | $11,708 |
| University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (WI) | $43,418 | — |
| Brown University (RI) | $42,643 | $11,760 |
| Tufts University (MA) | $42,060 | $18,250 |
| St Petersburg College (FL) | $41,491 | $27,026 |

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/public-health.jsonld` · `/education/fields/public-health.json`