Which Ohio geology and earth science program has the lowest debt?

Ohio University reports the lowest median federal debt, $19,500, with first-year pay of $38,637.

How much do geology and earth science graduates earn in Ohio?

The median across 6 Ohio geology and earth science bachelor's programs is $39,500 in the first year after graduating and $53,092 five years after.

How many geology and earth science bachelor's programs are in Ohio?

6 Ohio programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 6 of them also report federal debt.

Geology and Earth Science (Bachelor's) Programs in Ohio, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

6 programs report first-year pay
6 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Ohio geology and earth science bachelor's program pays its graduates $39,500 in their first year, $506 less than the national median. Ohio State reports the highest first-year pay ($41,156), and Ohio University the lowest median debt ($19,500).

Median first-year pay$39,500National $40,005

Median pay after 5 years$53,092National $57,967

Median federal debt$25,750National $25,000

Debt-to-earnings64%National 60%

All 6 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	Ohio StateColumbus · public	$41,156	$50,483	$26,000	63%
2	Kent StateKent · public	$40,005	$47,238	$27,000	67%
3	University of AkronAkron · public	$39,678	$60,028	$27,000	68%
4	Wright StateDayton · public	$39,321	$53,092	$25,500	65%
5	Ohio UniversityAthens · public	$38,637	Not reported	$19,500	50%
6	Miami UniversityOxford · public	$38,478	$53,128	$20,862	54%

Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio geology and earth science program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 6 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 geology and earth science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Natural Sciences Managers

$137,170

Median pay in Ohio. 1,560 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $78,720Top 10%: $217,760

Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers

$81,220

Median pay in Ohio. 410 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $55,990Top 10%: $130,690

Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians

$48,890

Median pay in Ohio. 130 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $37,440Top 10%: $107,440

Hydrologists

$98,200

Median pay in Ohio. 390 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $60,800Top 10%: $131,100

Common questions

Ohio State in Columbus reports the highest median first-year pay, $41,156. Its median federal debt is $26,000.

Geology and Earth Science (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked95 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 Ohio rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the geology and earth science 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