Which California public health program has the lowest debt?

UC Berkeley reports the lowest median federal debt, $11,729, with first-year pay of $48,351.

How much do public health graduates earn in California?

The median across 16 California public health bachelor's programs is $39,078 in the first year after graduating and $63,083 five years after.

How many public health bachelor's programs are in California?

16 California programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 16 of them also report federal debt.

Public Health (Bachelor's) Programs in California, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

16 programs report first-year pay
16 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Public Health

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median California public health bachelor's program pays its graduates $39,078 in their first year, $1,562 more than the national median. National University reports the highest first-year pay ($52,057), and UC Berkeley the lowest median debt ($11,729).

Median first-year pay$39,078National $37,516

Median pay after 5 years$63,083National $56,608

Median federal debt$15,265National $25,000

Debt-to-earnings42%National 63%

All 16 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	National UniversitySan Diego · private nonprofit	$52,057	$55,472	$37,469	72%
2	UC BerkeleyBerkeley · public	$48,351	$81,604	$11,729	24%
3	Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara · private nonprofit	$47,274	$65,015	$24,500	52%
4	California Baptist UniversityRiverside · private nonprofit	$46,263	$49,280	$35,287	76%
5	Chico StateChico · public	$45,339	Not reported	$20,750	46%
6	San Diego StateSan Diego · public	$41,092	Not reported	$13,812	34%
7	Cal State LALos Angeles · public	$40,750	$56,290	$12,500	31%
8	UC San DiegoLa Jolla · public	$39,144	$67,103	$15,280	39%
9	CSUNNorthridge · public	$39,011	$61,716	$14,000	36%
10	UC MercedMerced · public	$36,555	Not reported	$15,502	42%
11	USCLos Angeles · private nonprofit	$36,300	$81,522	$15,250	42%
12	UC IrvineIrvine · public	$35,463	$64,449	$17,285	49%
13	Fresno StateFresno · public	$34,948	$46,012	$14,448	41%
14	Cal State FullertonFullerton · public	$34,909	Not reported	$13,500	39%
15	Cal State Long BeachLong Beach · public	$32,880	$61,686	$13,480	41%
16	Chapman UniversityOrange · private nonprofit	$25,007	$76,156	$23,250	93%

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.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 16 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

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

Common questions

National University in San Diego reports the highest median first-year pay, $52,057. Its median federal debt is $37,469.

Public Health (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked186 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the public health bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024