Appalachian State Public Health (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Public Health
- Public university
- Boone, NC
- About 76 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Appalachian State public health graduates earn less than graduates of most public health programs nationally, $34,148 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,361 in federal loans, less than at 79% of public health programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the North Carolina median of $37,328.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The North Carolina and national columns are the medians across all public health bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Appalachian State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $5,440 less than the North Carolina median. Several North Carolina programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina public health program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the North Carolina medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 42% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned more in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed less. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $216 a month, or 7.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 37 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $26,114.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
79% of graduates (59 of 75) were working in North Carolina one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of North Carolina outside metro areas are about 12% below the national average, so a $34,148 salary here buys what about $38,625 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to public health, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Medical and Health Services Managers
$114,410Median pay in North Carolina. 14,820 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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.
Compliance Officers
$78,500Median pay in North Carolina. 11,320 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 32,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
$102,980Median pay in North Carolina. 5,730 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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.
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
$86,650Median pay in North Carolina. 4,670 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 19% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Appalachian State
Public Health ranks 27th of 52 bachelor's programs at Appalachian State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($69,420), Computer Science ($68,675), and Construction Management ($59,809).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $34,148 one year after graduating and $48,531 five years after. The median across public health bachelor's programs in North Carolina is $37,328.
The median federal loan balance is $20,361, which ranks 2nd lowest of 9 public health bachelor's programs in North Carolina. That works out to about $216 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 60% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 63%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several North Carolina programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 79% (59 of 75) were working in North Carolina one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of North Carolina comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the public health program.
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
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024