Tufts University Public Health (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Public Health
- Private nonprofit university
- Medford, MA
- About 77 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Tufts University public health graduates earn more than graduates of most public health programs nationally, $53,372 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $18,250 in federal loans, less than at 86% of public health programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying public health degrees in Massachusetts.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Massachusetts and national columns are the medians across all public health bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Tufts University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $5,511 more than the Massachusetts median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts public health program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Massachusetts 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 38% 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 $7,938 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $193 a month, or 4.3% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
47% of graduates (17 of 36) were working in Massachusetts one year after graduating. Prices in the Boston area are about 8% above the national average, so a $53,372 salary here buys what about $49,297 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
$134,360Median pay in Massachusetts. 17,600 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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
$102,060Median pay in Massachusetts. 13,190 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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
$128,210Median pay in Massachusetts. 17,100 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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
$103,970Median pay in Massachusetts. 3,390 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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 Tufts University
Public Health ranks 11th of 22 bachelor's programs at Tufts University by first-year earnings. The top three are Mathematics ($110,512), Computer Science ($105,659), and Mechanical Engineering ($78,441).
Other public health bachelor's programs near Medford
Common questions
The median graduate earns $53,372 one year after graduating and $73,825 five years after. The median across public health bachelor's programs in Massachusetts is $43,046.
The median federal loan balance is $18,250, which ranks the lowest of 5 public health bachelor's programs in Massachusetts. That works out to about $193 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 34% 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.
Many leave. 47% (17 of 36) were working in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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