How much debt do Cornell University public health graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $12,133, which ranks the lowest of 12 public health bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $129 a month over 10 years.

Is a public health degree from Cornell University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 27% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 63%.

Cornell University Public Health (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Public Health
Private nonprofit university
Ithaca, NY
About 33 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Cornell University public health graduates earn more than graduates of most public health programs nationally, $44,516 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $12,133 in federal loans, less than at 98% of public health programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying public health degrees in New York.

First-year earnings$44,51682nd percentile of 186 programs nationally

Median federal debt$12,133The lowest of 12 New York programs

Debt-to-earnings27%New York median 61%, national 63%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all public health bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Cornell University	New York	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$44,516	$41,255	$37,516
Median federal debt at graduation	$12,133	$25,543	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	27%	61%	63%
Programs compared		13	186

Debt and first-year pay at every New York public health program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York medians.

Cornell UniversityOther New York programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $129 a month, or 3.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Ithaca area are about 3% above the national average, so a $44,516 salary here buys what about $43,087 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

$164,120

Median pay in New York. 33,200 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $95,660Top 10%: $340,990

Compliance Officers

$90,080

Median pay in New York. 23,500 people work in this job in New York. 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.

Bottom 10%: $53,330Top 10%: $142,370

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$87,760

Median pay in New York. 7,690 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $67,490Top 10%: $177,510

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists

$95,720

Median pay in New York. 6,840 people work in this job in New York. 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.

Bottom 10%: $60,320Top 10%: $144,100

About Cornell University

Tuition and fees	$69,314 / year
Average net price after aid	$28,690 / year
Admission rate	9%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	95%
Undergraduate students	15,995

Public Health ranks 27th of 42 bachelor's programs at Cornell University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($152,656), Computer and Information Science ($103,650), and Electrical Engineering ($100,516).

Other public health bachelor's programs near Ithaca

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Cornell UniversityIthaca, NY · private nonprofit		$44,516	$12,133
Ithaca CollegeIthaca, NY · private nonprofit	2 mi	$32,112	$22,095
Syracuse UniversitySyracuse, NY · private nonprofit	44 mi	$43,280	$27,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $44,516 one year after graduating. The median across public health bachelor's programs in New York is $41,255.

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 New York 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

Public Health bachelor's programs in New York, ranked13 programs by pay and debt Public Health bachelor's programs in the US, ranked186 programs by pay and debt All Cornell University programs, ranked42 programs by pay and debt