Median Earnings for Healthcare Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
The typical healthcare bachelor's program pays $77,965 a year after graduation and $86,645 five years out, in EDsmart Data's analysis of College Scorecard program data. That is $31,476 more than the median bachelor's program in any field. The highest-paying healthcare credential is Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Master's) at $234,309 in year one.
Key Facts
- Healthcare bachelor's, year 1: $77,965
- Healthcare bachelor's, year 5: $86,645
- Top-paying healthcare field: Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences
- Healthcare programs with earnings data: 10,524
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Median earnings for healthcare degrees by credential level
Healthcare vs all fields
Our analysis finds healthcare bachelor's graduates earn $77,965 in year one versus $46,489 for all bachelor's programs.
Program medians weighted by graduates with reported earnings.
Healthcare degree earnings and debt by credential
| Credential | Year-1 earnings | Year-5 earnings | All fields, year 1 | Median debt | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate | $26,556 | $30,741 | $26,897 | $9,500 | 2,611 |
| Associate | $62,420 | $59,821 | $39,410 | $27,000 | 2,568 |
| Bachelor's | $77,965 | $86,645 | $46,489 | $31,000 | 2,393 |
| Master's | $100,249 | $110,140 | $64,745 | $53,686 | 2,041 |
| Doctoral | $79,751 | $128,724 | $79,042 | $85,387 | 476 |
| Professional | $69,235 | $144,745 | $72,074 | $181,971 | 435 |
Nursing career ladder: earnings at each step
Weighted medians across all programs at each credential level.
Top 25 highest-paying healthcare degrees and certificates
Fields with at least 5 programs reporting year-1 earnings, ranked by median earnings one year after completion.
| Field of study | Credential | Year-1 earnings | Year-5 earnings | Median debt | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences | Master's | $234,309 | $230,424 | $163,144 | 23 |
| Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies | Master's | $188,042 | $206,891 | $68,010 | 12 |
| Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services | Master's | $185,626 | $183,981 | $141,732 | 14 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Doctoral | $128,485 | $135,303 | $67,500 | 150 |
| Dentistry | Professional | $119,770 | $158,932 | $261,254 | 60 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Professional | $117,024 | $137,922 | $69,000 | 31 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | Master's | $113,185 | $127,336 | $119,080 | 229 |
| Dentistry | Doctoral | $110,451 | $154,560 | $339,933 | 7 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | Professional | $107,126 | $120,354 | $49,495 | 5 |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration | Doctoral | $105,478 | $140,893 | $220,926 | 41 |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration | Master's | $104,460 | $129,370 | $29,879 | 17 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | Doctoral | $103,817 | $112,887 | $95,200 | 6 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Master's | $103,147 | $118,330 | $53,964 | 460 |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration | Professional | $102,329 | $142,138 | $139,182 | 90 |
| Optometry | Professional | $97,440 | $118,651 | $175,334 | 16 |
| Public Health | Doctoral | $93,548 | $120,143 | $129,841 | 11 |
| Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities | Master's | $92,468 | $99,951 | $61,262 | 39 |
| Medical Illustration and Informatics | Master's | $84,370 | $93,300 | $36,894 | 28 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Bachelor's | $83,188 | $92,768 | $38,145 | 1,018 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services | Doctoral | $75,598 | $87,303 | $63,500 | 30 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | Doctoral | $75,254 | $83,693 | $86,783 | 176 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | Professional | $74,443 | $82,784 | $101,640 | 60 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | Master's | $69,849 | $70,025 | $41,000 | 217 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Associate | $68,114 | $75,988 | $30,500 | 921 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions | Master's | $66,213 | $73,101 | $60,954 | 12 |
Top 25 schools for BSN nursing earnings
| School | State | Year-1 earnings | Year-5 earnings | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sonoma State University | CA | $125,646 | $131,431 | $19,750 |
| 2. California State University-East Bay | CA | $124,392 | $160,918 | $18,875 |
| 3. Samuel Merritt University | CA | $119,486 | $148,857 | $25,000 |
| 4. California State University-Stanislaus | CA | $119,356 | $122,838 | $23,450 |
| 5. Pacific Union College | CA | $119,258 | $139,771 | $31,000 |
| 6. Helene Fuld College of Nursing | NY | $119,170 | $119,898 | — |
| 7. San Francisco State University | CA | $117,532 | $144,430 | $16,875 |
| 8. California State University-Monterey Bay | CA | $117,088 | $132,226 | $9,489 |
| 9. California State University-Sacramento | CA | $116,001 | $138,606 | $19,000 |
| 10. CUNY Medgar Evers College | NY | $115,779 | $127,875 | $21,213 |
| 11. CUNY York College | NY | $113,718 | $96,826 | $12,125 |
| 12. California State University-Chico | CA | $113,181 | $120,599 | $20,125 |
| 13. SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University | NY | $112,670 | $122,683 | $22,023 |
| 14. New York University | NY | $111,360 | $119,854 | $25,500 |
| 15. California State University-Dominguez Hills | CA | $110,626 | $122,899 | $18,750 |
| 16. College of Staten Island CUNY | NY | $110,335 | $120,316 | $17,125 |
| 17. CUNY Graduate School and University Center | NY | $109,744 | $124,159 | $16,593 |
| 18. Wagner College | NY | $108,746 | $118,823 | $27,000 |
| 19. Pace University | NY | $107,433 | $113,091 | $27,000 |
| 20. California State University-Northridge | CA | $106,780 | $119,562 | $20,000 |
| 21. University of Hartford | CT | $106,348 | $107,755 | $26,062 |
| 22. Molloy University | NY | $105,747 | $113,004 | $31,000 |
| 23. Azusa Pacific University | CA | $105,521 | $119,455 | $26,898 |
| 24. Monroe University | NY | $105,209 | — | $33,217 |
| 25. University of Mount Saint Vincent | NY | $105,134 | $114,857 | $30,500 |
What the data shows
Healthcare degrees pay above average at the bachelor's level in our analysis, and the credential level matters as much as the field. Moving up a level usually raises year-one earnings more than switching schools does.
Earnings vary widely by program. The school-level table shows how far the best programs sit above the national median, so compare a specific program's earnings rather than relying on the field average.
Methodology
Program figures come from the College Scorecard field-of-study file: one record per institution × 4-digit CIP code × credential level. Earnings are median annual earnings of federal-aid recipients who completed the program and were working and not enrolled, measured 1, 4, and 5 years after completion (in the dollar year of the Scorecard release). Debt is the median federal loan balance (Stafford and Grad PLUS) at completion; private loans and Parent PLUS are excluded. Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education and drop out of each column.
When we summarize many programs, we take the median across programs weighted by the number of graduates in each program's earnings (or debt) cohort, so large programs count more than tiny ones.
Healthcare covers CIP family 51 (health professions). Health certificates at bachelor's- or graduate-predominant universities are excluded because they are usually post-degree credentials.
Frequently asked questions
How much do healthcare degree graduates earn?
The median healthcare bachelor's program pays $77,965 one year after graduation and $86,645 five years out, based on College Scorecard data for 2,393 programs.
What is the highest-paying healthcare degree?
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Master's) leads at $234,309 in year-one median earnings, followed by Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's, $188,042).
Do healthcare associate degrees pay well?
The median healthcare associate program pays $62,420 in year one, versus $39,410 for associate programs in all fields.
How much debt do healthcare graduates have?
Median federal debt for healthcare bachelor's graduates is $31,000.
Data sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard institution and field-of-study files (latest release in our extract)