How much debt do USC public health graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $15,250, which ranks 8th lowest of 16 public health bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $162 a month over 10 years.

Is a public health degree from USC worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 42% 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 California programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

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

Q: Do USC public health graduates stay in California?

Most do. 71% (32 of 45) were working in California one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Public Health
Private nonprofit university
Los Angeles, CA
About 109 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

USC public health graduates earn about what public health graduates earn nationally, $36,300 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $15,250 in federal loans, less than at 90% of public health programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying public health degrees in California.

First-year earnings$36,30039th percentile of 186 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$81,522125% more than year one

Median federal debt$15,2508th lowest of 16 California programs

Debt-to-earnings42%California median 42%, national 63%

How it compares

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

	USC	California	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$36,300	$39,078	$37,516
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$81,522	$63,083	$56,608
Median federal debt at graduation	$15,250	$15,265	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	42%	42%	63%
Programs compared		16	186

Five years out, USC graduates earn more than the national figure and about $18,440 more than the California median.

Debt and first-year pay at every California public health program

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

USCOther California programs

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 125% between the first and fifth year.

USC grads, year 1$36,300

USC grads, year 5$81,522

All California public health grads, year 5$63,083

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 $162 a month, or 5.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (82 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20% or less
Paying down the balance	20–39%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20% or less
In default	20% or less

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, 35 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $44,989.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

71% of graduates (32 of 45) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Los Angeles area are about 14% above the national average, so a $36,300 salary here buys what about $31,964 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

$141,480

Median pay in California. 75,090 people work in this job in California. 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%: $72,800Top 10%: $274,660

Compliance Officers

$96,980

Median pay in California. 49,880 people work in this job in California. 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%: $57,530Top 10%: $158,280

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$136,990

Median pay in California. 29,830 people work in this job in California. 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%: $81,320Top 10%: $180,060

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists

$102,840

Median pay in California. 16,230 people work in this job in California. 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%: $59,760Top 10%: $161,300

About USC

Tuition and fees	$72,097 / year
Average net price after aid	$32,740 / year
Admission rate	10%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	92%
Undergraduate students	20,443

Public Health ranks 30th of 43 bachelor's programs at USC by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($137,284), Software and Media Applications ($103,071), and Real Estate ($98,763).

Other public health bachelor's programs near Los Angeles

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
USCLos Angeles, CA · private nonprofit		$36,300	$15,250
Cal State LALos Angeles, CA · public	7 mi	$40,750	$12,500
Cal State Long BeachLong Beach, CA · public	19 mi	$32,880	$13,480
CSUNNorthridge, CA · public	21 mi	$39,011	$14,000
Cal State FullertonFullerton, CA · public	25 mi	$34,909	$13,500
Chapman UniversityOrange, CA · private nonprofit	29 mi	$25,007	$23,250
UC IrvineIrvine, CA · public	36 mi	$35,463	$17,285
California Baptist UniversityRiverside, CA · private nonprofit	50 mi	$46,263	$35,287

Common questions

The median graduate earns $36,300 one year after graduating and $81,522 five years after. The median across public health bachelor's programs in California is $39,078.

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 California 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 California, ranked16 programs by pay and debt Public Health bachelor's programs in the US, ranked186 programs by pay and debt All USC programs, ranked43 programs by pay and debt