Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Public Health

Ranked by graduate earnings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard — updated 2026.

Programs tracked: 213

Avg grad salary: $44,090

Total graduates: 16,291

Top Colleges for Public Health — Ranked by Graduate Earnings

Showing schools with reported earnings data. Earnings reflect median graduate salary 4 years after graduation (or 1 year where 4-year data is unavailable).

#	School	Median Salary (4yr)	Starting Salary (1yr)	Graduates	Median Debt	Admit Rate
1	The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston, TX	N/A	$99,671	25	$30,500	N/A
2	Montana Technological University Butte, MT	$82,190	$74,771	28	$27,000	89.9%
3	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	$77,335	$36,540	100	$12,750	7.6%
4	Utah State University Logan, UT	N/A	$76,451	25	N/A	93.6%
5	Illinois State University Normal, IL	$76,175	$59,207	60	$22,250	89.0%
6	UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$67,892	$48,351	113	$11,729	11.7%
7	Simmons University Boston, MA	$65,418	$45,331	28	$27,000	66.0%
8	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	$64,493	$52,540	17	$26,000	89.6%
9	Tufts University Medford, MA	$63,446	$53,372	36	$18,250	10.1%
10	USC Los Angeles, CA	$62,308	$36,300	45	$15,250	10.0%
11	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	$62,238	$47,274	18	$24,500	43.8%
12	UIUC Champaign, IL	$61,751	$40,564	159	$20,678	43.7%
13	Brown University Providence, RI	$61,595	$75,909	29	$11,760	5.2%
14	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	$61,535	$47,444	23	N/A	54.0%
15	Indiana University Bloomington, IN	$60,955	$42,790	155	$19,689	80.4%
16	American Public University System Charles Town, WV	$60,675	$47,100	83	$28,999	N/A
17	Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ	$60,468	$45,408	346	$26,000	65.3%
18	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI	$60,142	$59,330	39	$30,750	70.2%
19	Chapman University Orange, CA	$60,106	$25,007	54	$23,250	55.6%
20	University of St Thomas Saint Paul, MN	$59,475	$38,475	39	$27,000	84.9%
21	George Washington University Washington, DC	$59,322	$44,809	32	$23,822	43.5%
22	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	$59,268	$37,364	157	$26,000	57.8%
23	North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC	N/A	$58,660	17	N/A	46.2%
24	University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, OK	$58,549	$49,560	115	$21,625	81.8%
25	University of Maryland College Park, MD	$58,232	$38,273	272	$23,424	44.8%
26	University of Georgia Athens, GA	$57,204	$39,534	71	$21,500	37.2%
27	Ohio State University Columbus, OH	$57,074	$36,226	69	$18,500	50.8%
28	American University Washington, DC	$56,709	$42,194	68	$23,452	47.4%
29	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	$56,703	$37,068	67	$14,500	87.2%
30	Purdue University West Lafayette, IN	$54,930	$45,274	42	$21,500	50.3%
31	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	$54,610	$30,056	161	$17,580	24.0%
32	University of Florida-Online Gainesville, FL	$54,610	$30,056	161	$17,580	64.4%
33	UT Austin Austin, TX	$54,491	$35,761	165	$21,500	29.1%
34	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	$54,285	$39,011	277	$14,000	93.2%
35	UC Irvine Irvine, CA	$53,761	$35,463	356	$17,285	25.6%
36	Pacific University Forest Grove, OR	$53,718	$30,412	25	$26,277	91.8%
37	University of Delaware Newark, DE	$53,358	$35,437	113	$25,000	65.1%
38	University of Washington Seattle, WA	$53,247	$46,016	226	$16,490	42.5%
39	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA	$53,247	$46,016	226	$16,490	83.0%
40	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	$53,066	$37,025	180	$22,000	88.8%
41	UC San Diego La Jolla, CA	$53,015	$39,144	209	$15,280	24.5%
42	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA	$52,704	$43,046	77	$27,000	85.2%
43	Winona State University Winona, MN	$50,899	$46,250	27	$20,966	68.5%
44	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ	$50,875	$41,561	289	$24,250	91.0%
45	Georgetown University Washington, DC	N/A	$50,415	21	$12,000	13.1%
46	Florida National University-Main Campus Hialeah, FL	$50,364	$38,685	33	$48,696	N/A
47	Regis College Weston, MA	$50,178	$42,638	21	$27,000	89.3%
48	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR	$50,070	$40,682	145	$24,000	78.8%
49	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR	$50,070	$40,682	145	$24,000	68.4%
50	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	$50,030	$32,880	176	$13,480	47.1%
51	National University San Diego, CA	$49,794	$52,057	49	$37,469	N/A
52	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	$48,997	$38,852	54	$20,500	70.9%
53	Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT	$48,833	$35,797	82	$25,000	81.1%
54	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR	$48,807	$35,797	60	$25,595	71.7%
55	Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN	$48,634	$42,152	112	$22,220	81.4%
56	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC	$48,403	$36,307	43	$27,000	80.2%
57	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ	$48,201	$34,032	83	$27,000	87.4%
58	Walden University Minneapolis, MN	$48,167	$44,285	28	$45,793	N/A
59	St Catherine University Saint Paul, MN	$48,071	$42,407	55	$29,815	94.1%
60	East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, PA	$48,019	$35,380	36	$27,250	92.9%

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median among graduates who received federal financial aid.

Choosing the Best Public Health Program

Graduate Earnings

Median salary 4 years post-graduation measures the long-term ROI of a program. Higher earnings with lower debt means better financial outcomes.

Program Size

Graduate count signals program maturity. Larger programs often have stronger alumni networks and more job placement resources.

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio

Compare median debt against starting salary. A ratio below 1x means most graduates can repay loans within a year of earnings.

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