Environmental Health Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Environmental Health maps to BLS occupations averaging about $149,642, with roughly 3,455,310 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $9,992; common paths include Registered Nurses and Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health.
Key Statistics
Environmental Health: what the data shows
Common questions about environmental health degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a environmental health degree?
A Environmental Health program is classified under NCES CIP 51.2202 in the Public Health field family (51.22).
A program that focuses on the application of environmental sciences, public health, the biomedical sciences, and environmental toxicology to the study of environmental factors affecting human health, safety, and related ecological issues, and prepares individuals to function as professional environmental health specialists. Includes instruction in epidemiology, biostatistics, toxicology, public policy analysis, public management, risk assessment, communications, environmental law, occupational health and safety emergency response, and applications such as air quality, food protection, radiation protection, solid and hazardous waste management, water quality, soil quality, noise abatement, housing quality, and environmental control of recreational areas
IPEDS counted 305 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of environmental health degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 51.22 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Behavioral Aspects of Health (CIP 51.2212)
- Community Health and Preventive Medicine (CIP 51.2208)
- Health Services Administration (CIP 51.2211)
- Health/Medical Physics (CIP 51.2205)
- International Public Health/International Health (CIP 51.2210)
- Maternal and Child Health (CIP 51.2209)
- Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene (CIP 51.2206)
- Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality (CIP 51.2213)
- Public Health Education and Promotion (CIP 51.2207)
- Public Health Genetics (CIP 51.2214)
- Public Health, General (CIP 51.2201)
How long does it take to get a environmental health degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.2202 in our file:
- 18 Associate (1.7% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 305 Bachelor's (28.9% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 706 Master's (67.0% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 25 Doctorate (2.4% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Registered Nurses (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a environmental health degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Environmental Health to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 3,282,010 | $93,600 |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | 84,930 | $80,060 |
| Home Health Aides | — | — |
| Mental Health Counselors | — | — |
| Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors | 23,220 | $109,660 |
| Health Education Specialists | 65,150 | $63,000 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a environmental health degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Public Health bachelor's program family: median debt $25,768, median earnings $58,808 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.69.
About 5.0% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $9,992 and median net price is $17,321.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Environmental Health and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$9,992 Median In-State Public
$39,800 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Environmental Health majors are, on average, $9,992 for in-state public colleges, and $39,800 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Environmental Health programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Environmental Health from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Environmental Health.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 2 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 3 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 4 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
| 5 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Environmental Health programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haskell Indian Nations University | KS | $600 |
| 2 | Cypress College | CA | $1,150 |
| 3 | MiraCosta College | CA | $1,158 |
| 4 | San Joaquin Delta College | CA | $1,180 |
| 5 | Monterey Peninsula College | CA | $1,188 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Environmental Health programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 3 | St Petersburg College | FL | $1,471 |
| 4 | Middlesex College | NJ | $2,288 |
| 5 | San Joaquin Delta College | CA | $2,407 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Environmental Health programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Environmental Health programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Environmental Health is in CA (45 completions). That state represents about 14.8% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is AK (0.07% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 45 | 14.8% | 0.01% |
| NC | 45 | 14.8% | 0.04% |
| OH | 36 | 11.8% | 0.03% |
| WA | 25 | 8.2% | 0.04% |
| MI | 23 | 7.5% | 0.02% |
| KY | 21 | 6.9% | 0.04% |
| GA | 20 | 6.6% | 0.02% |
| NY | 11 | 3.6% | 0.00% |
| ID | 10 | 3.3% | 0.04% |
| MO | 10 | 3.3% | 0.01% |
| PA | 10 | 3.3% | 0.01% |
| CO | 8 | 2.6% | 0.01% |
| TN | 8 | 2.6% | 0.01% |
| TX | 7 | 2.3% | 0.00% |
| IL | 6 | 2.0% | 0.00% |
| OK | 4 | 1.3% | 0.01% |
| SC | 4 | 1.3% | 0.01% |
| UT | 4 | 1.3% | 0.00% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 51.22 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Behavioral Aspects of Health CIP 51.2212
- Community Health and Preventive Medicine CIP 51.2208
- Health Services Administration CIP 51.2211
- Health/Medical Physics CIP 51.2205
- International Public Health/International Health CIP 51.2210
- Maternal and Child Health CIP 51.2209
- Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene CIP 51.2206
- Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality CIP 51.2213
- Public Health Education and Promotion CIP 51.2207
- Public Health Genetics CIP 51.2214
- Public Health, General CIP 51.2201
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.2202 in the survey year used in our extract (1,054 total across levels below).
- 18 Associate (1.7% of IPEDS total)
- 305 Bachelor's (28.9% of IPEDS total)
- 706 Master's (67.0% of IPEDS total)
- 25 Doctorate (2.4% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $149,642. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Environmental Health graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | $152,361 | 3,282,010 |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | $110,339 | 84,930 |
| Home Health Aides | — | — |
| Mental Health Counselors | — | — |
| Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors | $127,278 | 23,220 |
| Health Education Specialists | $71,851 | 65,150 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Public Health CIP family (89 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Environmental Health graduate.
- $25,768 median federal loan debt among completers
- $58,808 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.69 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 5.0% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$149,642 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Environmental Health majors is $149,642.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Environmental Health majors.
Occupations by Share
3,455,310 2023 Workforce
The number of Environmental Health graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Environmental Health by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Environmental Health in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Environmental Health.
Age distribution for Environmental Health degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
305 Total Degrees Awarded
120 Male (39.34%)
185 Female (60.66%)
Gender distribution of Environmental Health degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
161 White (52.79%)
48 Hispanic or Latino (15.74%)
41 Asian (13.44%)
27 Black or African American (8.85%)
11 Two or More Races (3.61%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Environmental Health degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Environmental Health are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Environmental Health.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Environmental Health field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Environmental Health majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Environmental Health majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Environmental Health majors.
About
A program that focuses on the application of environmental sciences, public health, the biomedical sciences, and environmental toxicology to the study of environmental factors affecting human health, safety, and related ecological issues, and prepares individuals to function as professional environmental health specialists. Includes instruction in epidemiology, biostatistics, toxicology, public policy analysis, public management, risk assessment, communications, environmental law, occupational health and safety emergency response, and applications such as air quality, food protection, radiation protection, solid and hazardous waste management, water quality, soil quality, noise abatement, housing quality, and environmental control of recreational areas
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Environmental Health.
CIP Code
51.2202 - Environmental Health
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $25,768 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $58,808, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.69. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Environmental Health graduate.
Women earned 68.8% of 1,269 Environmental Health completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $149,642. The largest mapped role by headcount is Registered Nurses (3,282,010 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,992 in-state at public colleges and $39,800 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.