University of Houston Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering
- Public university
- Houston, TX
- About 89 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of Houston chemical engineering graduates earn more than graduates of most chemical engineering programs nationally, $84,468 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,000 in federal loans, less than at 80% of chemical engineering programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying chemical engineering degrees in Texas.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Texas and national columns are the medians across all chemical engineering bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University of Houston graduates earn about the national figure but about $5,719 less than the Texas median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Texas chemical engineering program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Texas 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 17% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $212 a month, or 3.0% 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
87% of graduates (61 of 70) were working in Texas one year after graduating. Prices in the Houston area are about 1% below the national average, so a $84,468 salary here buys what about $85,642 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 chemical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$171,370Median pay in Texas. 19,030 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers
$92,600Median pay in Texas. 2,050 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Chemical Engineers
$132,750Median pay in Texas. 2,610 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About University of Houston
Chemical Engineering ranks 3rd of 54 bachelor's programs at University of Houston by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($86,136), Nursing ($85,740), and Chemical Engineering ($84,468).
Other chemical engineering bachelor's programs near Houston
Common questions
The median graduate earns $84,468 one year after graduating and $99,077 five years after. The median across chemical engineering bachelor's programs in Texas is $85,322.
The median federal loan balance is $20,000, which ranks 4th lowest of 8 chemical engineering bachelor's programs in Texas. That works out to about $212 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 24% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 32%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Texas programs report higher pay.
Most do. 87% (61 of 70) were working in Texas 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 Texas 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 chemical engineering 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