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

UT Austin reports the lowest median federal debt, $16,487, with first-year pay of $42,062.

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

The median across 6 Texas geology and earth science bachelor's programs is $43,687 in the first year after graduating and $56,612 five years after.

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

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

Geology and Earth Science (Bachelor's) Programs in Texas, 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 Texas geology and earth science bachelor's program pays its graduates $43,687 in their first year, $3,682 more than the national median. UH-Downtown reports the highest first-year pay ($50,894), and UT Austin the lowest median debt ($16,487).

Median first-year pay$43,687National $40,005

Median pay after 5 years$56,612National $57,967

Median federal debt$22,919National $25,000

Debt-to-earnings46%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	UH-DowntownHouston · public	$50,894	Not reported	$20,250	40%
2	Texas TechLubbock · public	$49,727	$57,013	$25,750	52%
3	Texas A&MCollege Station · public	$44,585	$72,906	$20,837	47%
4	UT ArlingtonArlington · public	$42,788	$53,275	$27,931	65%
5	UTSASan Antonio · public	$42,779	$56,304	$18,969	44%
6	UT AustinAustin · public	$42,062	$61,340	$16,487	39%

2 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Texas geology and earth science 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 the 6 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

UH-Downtown$50,894
Texas Tech$49,727
Texas A&M$44,585
UT Arlington$42,788
UTSA$42,779

Lowest median debt

UT Austin$16,487
UTSA$18,969
UH-Downtown$20,250
Texas A&M$20,837
Texas Tech$25,750

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

$129,960

Median pay in Texas. 7,470 people work in this job in Texas. 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%: $74,200Top 10%: $213,280

Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers

$145,220

Median pay in Texas. 4,900 people work in this job in Texas. 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%: $60,100Top 10%: $287,180

Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians

$46,840

Median pay in Texas. 2,190 people work in this job in Texas. 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%: $29,790Top 10%: $104,420

Hydrologists

$81,080

Median pay in Texas. 220 people work in this job in Texas. 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%: $54,650Top 10%: $126,440

Common questions

UH-Downtown in Houston reports the highest median first-year pay, $50,894. Its median federal debt is $20,250.

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 Texas 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