Which state pays microbiology bachelor's graduates the most?

California, where the median program pays its graduates $46,005 in their first year, the highest of 2 state rankings. Texas is next, at $27,445.

Which microbiology bachelor's program pays the most?

San Francisco State in California reports the highest first-year pay of the 55 programs ranked here, $56,071. Its median federal debt is $24,120.

How much debt do microbiology bachelor's graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $21,868 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 55% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Microbiology (Bachelor's) Programs in the US

55 programs report first-year pay
2 state rankings
Bachelor's in Microbiological Sciences and Immunology

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median microbiology bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $38,726 in their first year and $65,144 five years after. California has the highest state median ($46,005), and Texas the lowest ($27,445). The median program leaves its graduates with $21,868 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$38,726Across 55 programs

Median pay after 5 years$65,144Across 43 programs

Median federal debt$21,868Across 58 programs

Debt-to-earnings55%Across 53 programs

All 55 programs, ranked by graduate pay

Each program is ranked by the median pay of its graduates one year after they finished, from College Scorecard. This measures what graduates earn, not how good the teaching is. Pay also depends on where graduates live and work. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	After cost of living	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	San Francisco StateSan Francisco, CA · public	$56,071	$50,642	$87,999	$24,120	43%
2	Cal Poly SLOSan Luis Obispo, CA · public	$55,807	$50,404	Not reported	$22,138	40%
3	UW-La CrosseLa Crosse, WI · public	$54,290	$57,697	$60,098	$25,464	47%
4	UC BerkeleyBerkeley, CA · public	$50,706	$45,797	Not reported	$14,308	28%
5	UW-MadisonMadison, WI · public	$49,186	$52,273	$65,144	$23,480	48%
6	Chico StateChico, CA · public	$49,068	$44,317	$64,331	$24,572	50%
7	Cal State Long BeachLong Beach, CA · public	$48,631	$43,923	$70,860	Not reported	Not reported
8	UMass AmherstAmherst, MA · public	$47,331	$44,754	$69,483	$27,000	57%
9	CSUNNorthridge, CA · public	$46,489	Not adjusted	$72,199	$7,500	16%
10	UC DavisDavis, CA · public	$46,005	$41,551	$90,315	$11,000	24%
11	San Diego StateSan Diego, CA · public	$45,360	$40,968	Not reported	$15,500	34%
12	NC StateRaleigh, NC · public	$43,761	$46,393	Not reported	$24,486	56%
13	Washington StatePullman, WA · public	$43,736	Not adjusted	$71,666	$21,250	49%
14	University of KansasLawrence, KS · public	$43,734	$48,557	Not reported	$27,000	62%
15	UC San DiegoLa Jolla, CA · public	$43,608	$39,386	Not reported	$13,811	32%
16	UC RiversideRiverside, CA · public	$43,086	$38,914	Not reported	$14,121	33%
17	UC Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA · public	$42,634	$38,506	Not reported	$16,500	39%
18	University of ArizonaTucson, AZ · public	$42,433	$42,148	$54,765	$20,750	49%
19	Weber StateOgden, UT · public	$41,079	$41,551	$65,197	$24,383	59%
20	University of Nebraska-LincolnLincoln, NE · public	$40,792	$45,273	Not reported	$25,941	64%
21	North Dakota StateFargo, ND · public	$40,262	Not adjusted	$68,195	$25,543	63%
22	UT ArlingtonArlington, TX · public	$40,101	$41,317	$58,611	$21,395	53%
23	University of Nevada-RenoReno, NV · public	$39,752	$39,760	Not reported	$19,500	49%
24	Colorado StateFort Collins, CO · public	$39,701	$38,525	$64,977	$26,000	65%
25	ASUTempe, AZ · public	$39,521	$39,255	$69,627	$19,000	48%
26	Cal State LALos Angeles, CA · public	$39,266	$35,464	Not reported	$19,334	49%
27	Iowa StateAmes, IA · public	$39,019	$44,460	$60,882	$22,500	58%
28	Michigan StateEast Lansing, MI · public	$38,726	$40,249	$60,447	$29,301	76%
29	Oklahoma StateStillwater, OK · public	$38,040	$43,305	Not reported	$19,323	51%
30	University of GeorgiaAthens, GA · public	$37,864	$39,322	$68,825	$23,214	61%
31	Texas StateSan Marcos, TX · public	$37,663	$38,805	$62,154	$25,000	66%
32	Oregon StateCorvallis, OR · public	$37,610	$36,387	$70,583	$22,959	61%
33	Ohio StateColumbus, OH · public	$37,592	$40,520	$65,347	$20,500	55%
34	Northern Arizona UniversityFlagstaff, AZ · public	$37,375	$37,124	$71,307	$24,000	64%
35	Montana StateBozeman, MT · public	$37,181	$39,285	$63,350	$22,065	59%
36	University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, MN · public	$37,068	$37,586	$63,560	$23,685	64%
37	UCLALos Angeles, CA · public	$36,403	$32,878	$77,994	$14,000	38%
38	New Mexico StateLas Cruces, NM · public	$36,198	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
39	University of IdahoMoscow, ID · public	$36,118	$37,822	Not reported	$24,250	67%
40	Kansas StateManhattan, KS · public	$35,523	Not adjusted	Not reported	$17,227	48%
41	University of WashingtonSeattle, WA · public	$34,669	$32,397	$68,273	$15,917	46%
42	University of Oklahoma-Norman CampusNorman, OK · public	$34,451	$39,219	$65,792	$24,304	71%
43	University of PittsburghPittsburgh, PA · public	$34,279	$35,132	Not reported	$19,800	58%
44	USFTampa, FL · public	$32,135	$31,074	$59,711	$19,503	61%
45	University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI · public	$32,022	$33,281	Not reported	$18,644	58%
46	BYUProvo, UT · private nonprofit	$31,833	$32,199	$64,156	$12,250	38%
47	Clemson UniversityClemson, SC · public	$30,265	$32,283	$77,932	$25,762	85%
48	University of FloridaGainesville, FL · public	$27,994	$27,070	$60,469	$16,446	59%
49	Texas TechLubbock, TX · public	$27,445	$28,277	$76,515	$22,985	84%
50	UPR HumacaoHumacao, PR · public	$26,961	Not adjusted	$41,016	$5,500	20%
51	UTSASan Antonio, TX · public	$26,218	$27,013	Not reported	$21,671	83%
52	UPR MayaguezMayaguez, PR · public	$22,932	Not adjusted	$44,562	$8,375	37%
53	UTEPEl Paso, TX · public	$22,069	$22,738	$63,674	$18,531	84%
54	University of MiamiCoral Gables, FL · private nonprofit	$17,200	Not adjusted	$68,435	$18,625	108%
55	UPR AreciboArecibo, PR · public	$15,654	Not adjusted	$32,364	$5,250	34%

Pay after cost of living divides first-year pay by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level of the school's state, where the US average is 100. It is shown for 46 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 9, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

2 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked.

Microbiology (Bachelor's) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's microbiology bachelor's programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
California	13	$46,005	$14,904
Texas	5	$27,445	$21,671

Programs in 25 more states and territories report pay, but too few to rank. A state ranking needs at least five programs that report both pay and debt.

Quick picks nationwide

Lowest median debt

CSUN, CA$7,500
UC Davis, CA$11,000
UC San Diego, CA$13,811
UCLA, CA$14,000
UC Riverside, CA$14,121
UC Berkeley, CA$14,308
San Diego State, CA$15,500
UC Santa Barbara, CA$16,500
UTEP, TX$18,531
Cal State LA, CA$19,334

Lowest debt for the pay

CSUN, CA16%
UC Davis, CA24%
UC Berkeley, CA28%
UC San Diego, CA32%
UC Riverside, CA33%
San Diego State, CA34%
UCLA, CA38%
UC Santa Barbara, CA39%
Cal Poly SLO, CA40%
San Francisco State, CA43%

Only the 17 programs with their own page here are included. "Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to microbiology, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Medical and Health Services Managers

$123,860

Median pay in the US. 597,080 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 24% from 2025 to 2035, with about 62,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $73,390Top 10%: $224,340

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$103,410

Median pay in the US. 172,340 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $64,800Top 10%: $177,780

Natural Sciences Managers

$167,220

Median pay in the US. 108,690 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $79,710Top 10%: $316,850

Biological Technicians

$57,510

Median pay in the US. 69,620 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $40,330Top 10%: $84,940

Common questions

The median microbiology bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $38,726 in their first year and $65,144 five years after.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
National medians include every program in the 50 states, DC, and US territories, including schools that have since closed. Schools with several campuses that report one combined figure are counted once.
Programs are ranked by College Scorecard median pay one year after graduation. Pay after cost of living uses the price level of the school's state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024