US College Programs

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

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

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Michigan public health bachelor's program pays its graduates $36,181 in their first year, $1,335 less than the national median. Oakland University reports the highest first-year pay ($59,330), and University of Michigan the lowest median debt ($18,903).

Median first-year pay$36,181National $37,516
Median pay after 5 years$70,016National $56,608
Median federal debt$25,625National $25,000
Debt-to-earnings63%National 63%

All 5 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.

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. Oakland University$59,330
  2. Eastern Michigan University$38,781
  3. University of Michigan$36,181
  4. University of Detroit Mercy$35,598
  5. Wayne State$32,584

Lowest median debt

  1. University of Michigan$18,903
  2. Wayne State$20,500
  3. Oakland University$30,750
  4. University of Detroit Mercy$30,944
  5. Eastern Michigan University$35,000

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. Oakland University52%
  2. University of Michigan52%
  3. Wayne State63%
  4. University of Detroit Mercy87%
  5. Eastern Michigan University90%

"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

$107,570

Median pay in Michigan. 16,060 people work in this job in Michigan. 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%: $66,140Top 10%: $192,440

Compliance Officers

$77,390

Median pay in Michigan. 9,720 people work in this job in Michigan. 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%: $46,290Top 10%: $120,560

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$84,310

Median pay in Michigan. 2,370 people work in this job in Michigan. 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%: $63,590Top 10%: $144,530

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists

$84,080

Median pay in Michigan. 3,350 people work in this job in Michigan. 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%: $55,610Top 10%: $125,350

Common questions

Oakland University in Rochester Hills reports the highest median first-year pay, $59,330. Its median federal debt is $30,750.

Related pages

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 Michigan 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

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024