Best Public Health Schools by Graduate Salary & ROI (2026)

213 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Public Health, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Public Health graduate earns $38,917/yr across 213 schools.

What do Public Health graduates do? See career paths and salaries →

Why a Tech School in Montana Leads in Public Health

Montana Technological University’s #1 rank is driven by its unique focus on industrial and environmental health. Located in a historic mining city, the university leverages its engineering strengths to place graduates in high-paying occupational safety and health roles within the energy and natural resource sectors. This specialized pipeline explains the exceptional $74,771 average earnings, demonstrating how a niche focus can create powerful, high-return career outcomes far from traditional public health hubs.

Why St. Petersburg College Outperforms Berkeley on Value

Seeing a Florida state college at #4, ahead of prestigious names like UC Berkeley (#8), reveals a key truth: ROI isn't about prestige, it's about results versus cost. St. Petersburg College delivers an incredible 55.6x ROI by combining ultra-low tuition ($10,728 for four years) with solid local job placement, feeding graduates directly into the Tampa Bay area's healthcare system. This model proves an affordable, career-focused public education can be a much smarter financial bet than a high-cost degree from a world-famous university.

AI Won't Steal Your Job, It Will Rewrite the Job Description

Every public health program faces high AI exposure (51.9% on average), but this doesn't mean mass unemployment. It means your value is shifting from performing routine tasks to overseeing them. AI will automate data analysis and compliance paperwork, freeing you to focus on the human-centric work: strategic planning, community engagement, and making judgment calls based on AI-generated insights. Your career will depend less on running the numbers and more on interpreting what they mean for real people.

Public Universities Own the Top 20. Here's Why.

The fact that 19 of our top 20 schools are public is the central story of this ranking. State schools from the CUNY and Cal State systems to Utah State are designed to be economic engines, providing affordable pathways into critical regional jobs. They create immense value by keeping tuition low and building direct pipelines to local government and healthcare employers, resulting in the high ROI and low debt-to-earnings ratios you see across the top of this list.

Programs Ranked
213
Avg Earnings
$38,917/yr
Avg DW Score
47/100
AI Risk
High
52% task exposure

All Public Health Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

# School DW Score Earnings ROI
1 Montana Technological University
Butte, MT · Public
80
76–80
$74,771/yr 29.7x
2 Utah State University
Logan, UT · Public
76
72–76
$76,451/yr 20.0x
3 Colorado State University-Fort Collins
Fort Collins, CO · Public
70
65–70
$52,540/yr 15.1x
4 St Petersburg College
St. Petersburg, FL · Public
70
65–70
$51,565/yr 55.6x
5 Illinois State University
Normal, IL · Public
69
64–70
$59,207/yr 12.0x
6 University of Central Oklahoma
Edmond, OK · Public
69
64–69
$49,560/yr 19.1x
7 Oakland University
Rochester Hills, MI · Public
67
62–68
$59,330/yr 11.4x
8 University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public
66
62–67
$48,351/yr 12.7x
9 CUNY Hunter College
New York, NY · Public
66
62–67
$47,444/yr 19.8x
10 American Public University System
Charles Town, WV · Private for-profit
66
61–66
$47,100/yr 17.9x
11 North Carolina A & T State University
Greensboro, NC · Public
64
59–65
$58,660/yr 20.7x
12 Indiana University-Bloomington
Bloomington, IN · Public
63
60–63
$42,790/yr 14.4x
13 CUNY Lehman College
Bronx, NY · Public
62
60–63
$41,255/yr 19.9x
14 University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA · Public
62
58–62
$46,016/yr 12.0x
15 University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
Tacoma, WA · Public
62
57–62
$46,016/yr 11.8x
16 California State University-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Public
60
57–60
$40,750/yr 19.7x
17 California State University-Northridge
Northridge, CA · Public
60
59–61
$39,011/yr 20.7x
18 Rutgers University-New Brunswick
New Brunswick, NJ · Public
60
56–61
$45,408/yr 9.6x
19 CUNY York College
Jamaica, NY · Public
60
57–60
$43,000/yr 17.4x
20 Weber State University
Ogden, UT · Public
60
58–61
$41,661/yr 20.4x
21 Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN · Public
60
56–60
$45,274/yr 13.1x
22 University of Georgia
Athens, GA · Public
59
57–60
$39,534/yr 14.3x
23 Indiana University-Northwest
Gary, IN · Public
59
56–60
$43,356/yr 15.5x
24 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX · Public
59
55–60
$99,671/yr
25 National University
San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit
58
53–59
$52,057/yr 9.4x
26 University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, NC · Public
58
58–58
$36,307/yr 21.0x
27 Northeastern State University
Tahlequah, OK · Public
58
55–59
$41,457/yr 16.7x
28 University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT · Public
58
57–59
$37,068/yr 17.1x
29 Central Washington University
Ellensburg, WA · Public
58
55–58
$42,137/yr 14.1x
30 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL · Public
57
55–57
$40,564/yr 10.1x
31 University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD · Public
57
56–58
$38,273/yr 13.7x
32 California State University-Chico
Chico, CA · Public
56
52–56
$45,339/yr 13.1x
33 Indiana University-Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN · Public
56
53–56
$42,152/yr 12.2x
34 University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, NC · Public
56
53–57
$42,239/yr 15.2x
35 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock, PA · Public
56
53–57
$42,605/yr 12.2x
36 Florida Gulf Coast University
Fort Myers, FL · Public
56
56–57
$35,724/yr 22.6x
37 Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, GA · Public
56
53–56
$42,175/yr 17.2x
38 Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ · Public
55
52–55
$41,561/yr 10.6x
39 Walden University
Minneapolis, MN · Private for-profit
55
52–56
$44,285/yr 10.1x
40 Boise State University
Boise, ID · Public
55
51–56
$46,117/yr 12.1x
41 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
La Crosse, WI · Public
55
52–56
$41,585/yr 12.7x
42 Oregon State University-Cascades Campus
Bend, OR · Public
55
53–56
$40,682/yr 10.9x
43 University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage, AK · Public
54
51–54
$42,552/yr 13.1x
44 California State University-Long Beach
Long Beach, CA · Public
54
55–54
$32,880/yr 21.0x
45 University of California-San Diego
La Jolla, CA · Public
54
53–55
$39,144/yr 10.0x
46 University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
Denver, CO · Public
54
51–54
$40,566/yr 12.2x
47 Winona State University
Winona, MN · Public
54
50–55
$46,250/yr 10.6x
48 Kent State University at Trumbull
Warren, OH · Public
54
52–54
$39,159/yr 15.8x
49 Ohio State University-Main Campus
Columbus, OH · Public
54
53–54
$36,226/yr 12.1x
50 Oklahoma State University-Main Campus
Stillwater, OK · Public
54
52–54
$38,852/yr 12.8x

Scores calculated using College Scorecard, BLS, and AI task-exposure data. See full methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Public Health?
Based on our DegreeOutlook Score, Montana Technological University ranks #1 for Public Health with a score of 80/100 and graduate earnings of $74,771/yr.
How much do Public Health graduates earn?
Across 213 schools, Public Health graduates earn an average of $38,917/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $99,671/yr.
Is Public Health a good major for AI resistance?
Public Health has an average AI task exposure of 52%, rated "High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.

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