Which nutrition science bachelor's program pays the most?

La Salle University in Pennsylvania reports the highest first-year pay of the 44 programs ranked here, $47,470. Its median federal debt is $28,628.

How much debt do nutrition science bachelor's graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $23,563 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 75% of first-year pay.

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

44 programs report first-year pay
1 state ranking
Bachelor's in Nutrition Sciences

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median nutrition science bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $30,858 in their first year and $57,314 five years after. California is the only state with enough programs to rank, with a median of $31,096. The median program leaves its graduates with $23,563 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$30,858Across 44 programs

Median pay after 5 years$57,314Across 34 programs

Median federal debt$23,563Across 49 programs

Debt-to-earnings75%Across 44 programs

All 44 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	La Salle UniversityPhiladelphia, PA · private nonprofit	$47,470	$48,651	Not reported	$28,628	60%
2	Texas A&MCollege Station, TX · public	$40,504	$41,732	Not reported	$21,850	54%
3	Seattle Pacific UniversitySeattle, WA · private nonprofit	$39,317	Not adjusted	Not reported	$26,323	67%
4	University of Northern ColoradoGreeley, CO · public	$39,258	Not adjusted	$46,874	$25,346	65%
5	UH ManoaHonolulu, HI · public	$37,993	$34,554	$50,833	$22,639	60%
6	Metropolitan State University of DenverDenver, CO · public	$37,213	$36,111	$53,328	$26,750	72%
7	University of Nevada-RenoReno, NV · public	$37,139	$37,147	$49,401	$20,100	54%
8	UC BerkeleyBerkeley, CA · public	$35,161	$31,757	$77,253	$16,182	46%
9	San Diego StateSan Diego, CA · public	$34,878	$31,501	Not reported	$18,000	52%
10	Texas Woman's UniversityDenton, TX · public	$34,726	$35,779	$56,603	$28,211	81%
11	UC DavisDavis, CA · public	$34,512	$31,171	$65,993	$14,166	41%
12	UW-MadisonMadison, WI · public	$34,504	Not adjusted	$65,131	$20,500	59%
13	Cal Poly PomonaPomona, CA · public	$34,384	$31,055	Not reported	$17,250	50%
14	University of New HampshireDurham, NH · public	$34,115	Not adjusted	$61,382	$27,000	79%
15	NC StateRaleigh, NC · public	$33,669	$35,694	$62,347	$22,511	67%
16	University of VermontBurlington, VT · public	$33,389	Not adjusted	$60,462	$19,500	58%
17	Kansas StateManhattan, KS · public	$33,381	Not adjusted	Not reported	$24,625	74%
18	Colorado StateFort Collins, CO · public	$32,785	$31,814	Not reported	$24,750	75%
19	University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, MN · public	$32,676	$33,133	$58,915	$24,586	75%
20	UNC GreensboroGreensboro, NC · public	$32,525	$34,481	$42,095	$26,656	82%
21	University of ArizonaTucson, AZ · public	$31,950	$31,735	$56,205	$23,563	74%
22	Cal State LALos Angeles, CA · public	$31,096	$28,085	Not reported	$14,493	47%
23	San Francisco StateSan Francisco, CA · public	$30,620	$27,655	Not reported	$17,137	56%
24	Cornell UniversityIthaca, NY · private nonprofit	$30,508	Not adjusted	$66,100	$13,750	45%
25	Central Washington UniversityEllensburg, WA · public	$30,113	$28,140	$54,285	$23,285	77%
26	UW-MilwaukeeMilwaukee, WI · public	$30,042	$31,927	Not reported	$31,000	103%
27	Bastyr UniversityKenmore, WA · private nonprofit	$28,998	$27,098	$49,640	$23,225	80%
28	Michigan StateEast Lansing, MI · public	$28,759	$29,890	$59,642	$25,000	87%
29	College of Saint BenedictSaint Joseph, MN · private nonprofit	$28,402	$28,799	$58,025	$26,572	94%
30	University of GeorgiaAthens, GA · public	$27,724	$28,791	$76,767	$24,710	89%
31	UConnStorrs, CT · public	$27,575	$26,614	$54,730	$27,000	98%
32	University of Nevada-Las VegasLas Vegas, NV · public	$27,171	$27,177	$51,838	$15,815	58%
33	LSUBaton Rouge, LA · public	$26,117	$29,609	$53,562	$23,250	89%
34	Penn StateUniversity Park, PA · public	$25,673	$26,312	Not reported	$26,000	101%
35	Chico StateChico, CA · public	$25,490	$23,022	Not reported	$19,272	76%
36	UMass AmherstAmherst, MA · public	$24,746	$23,399	Not reported	$23,791	96%
37	NYUNew York, NY · private nonprofit	$24,084	Not adjusted	Not reported	$21,500	89%
38	Texas TechLubbock, TX · public	$23,843	$24,566	Not reported	$24,250	102%
39	Fresno StateFresno, CA · public	$23,211	$20,964	Not reported	$11,375	49%
40	Cal Poly SLOSan Luis Obispo, CA · public	$22,675	$20,480	Not reported	$17,620	78%
41	Auburn UniversityAuburn, AL · public	$22,149	Not adjusted	$58,072	$26,000	117%
42	University of FloridaGainesville, FL · public	$21,031	$20,337	Not reported	$17,182	82%
43	RutgersNew Brunswick, NJ · public	$20,764	$19,084	$60,545	$25,250	122%
44	University of TennesseeKnoxville, TN · public	$18,122	Not adjusted	$53,505	$25,000	138%

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 34 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 10, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

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

Nutrition Science (Bachelor's) programs by state

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

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
California	9	$31,096	$17,137

Programs in 23 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

Fresno State, CA$11,375
UC Davis, CA$14,166
Cal State LA, CA$14,493
UC Berkeley, CA$16,182
San Francisco State, CA$17,137
Cal Poly Pomona, CA$17,250
Cal Poly SLO, CA$17,620
San Diego State, CA$18,000
Chico State, CA$19,272

Lowest debt for the pay

Only the 9 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 nutrition science, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

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

Dietitians and Nutritionists

$76,400

Median pay in the US. 77,570 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $49,090Top 10%: $103,720

Dietetic Technicians

$37,640

Median pay in the US. 31,560 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $29,720Top 10%: $54,020

Farm and Home Management Educators

$60,220

Median pay in the US. 8,220 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 800 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $37,650Top 10%: $85,060

Common questions

The median nutrition science bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $30,858 in their first year and $57,314 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