Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering: is it worth it?
A 0–100 score blending this major’s national earnings, ROI and typical debt. How it’s scored.
National picture across 36 college programs, at a typical net price.
Graduate earnings clearly outpace the cost and debt — this degree pays back quickly.
What Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering pays
Career outlook for Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering graduates
The job market for the occupations Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering graduates typically enter, projected through 2034 — from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. This is the demand side, complementing the IRS-verified graduate earnings above.
Top jobs for this major
| Occupation | U.S. jobs | Growth to 2034 | Median pay | Typical entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architectural and engineering managers | 212,500 | +3.8% | $167,740 | Bachelor's degree |
| Engineering teachers, postsecondary | 50,300 | +8.1% | $106,120 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Environmental engineers | 39,400 | +3.9% | $104,170 | Bachelor's degree |
| Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors | 23,800 | +4.4% | $109,660 | Bachelor's degree |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections (2024–34) & the NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupation pay is the national median wage for the role — not the same as graduate earnings, which we draw from IRS records.
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering vs similar majors
How Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering stacks up against the closest fields in Engineering on pay, debt, ROI and the DR Rating. The best figure in each row is highlighted.
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering Engineering · this major | Operations Research | Systems Engineering | Computer Engineering | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DR Rating | 85 A | 94 A | 88 A | 91 A |
| ROI verdict | Strong return | Strong return | Strong return | Strong return |
| Median earnings (5 yr) | $82,048 | $168,920 | $135,617 | $112,722 |
| Median earnings (1 yr) | $65,698 | $91,796 | $111,379 | $81,735 |
| ROI vs cost | +362% | +1,484% | +996% | +745% |
| Typical debt | $22,688 | $17,166 | $29,370 | $22,332 |
| Colleges offering it | 36 | 6 | 26 | 168 |
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering earnings over time
National median earnings one year after graduating, by cohort year — the consistent measure available across the federal data’s history.
Best colleges for Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
Ranked by the ROI of this major at each college — its graduate earnings against the cost.
| # | College | Credential | Earnings (5 yr) | Median debt | 10-yr ROI | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CUNY City College New York, NY | Associate's | $81,630 | — | +4,750% | Strong return |
| 2 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL | Certificate | $96,604 | — | +1,872% | Strong return |
| 3 | California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA | Certificate | $106,631 | $20,500 | +1,729% | Strong return |
| 4 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL | Associate's | $74,218 | $21,000 | +1,309% | Strong return |
| 5 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI | Associate's | $88,990 | $17,587 | +1,246% | Strong return |
| 6 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA | Associate's | $86,952 | $25,102 | +1,157% | Strong return |
| 7 | University of California-Merced Merced, CA | Associate's | $83,194 | $20,619 | +1,113% | Strong return |
| 8 | Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL | Associate's | $79,256 | $20,000 | +957% | Strong return |
| 9 | University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA | Associate's | $81,979 | $18,068 | +951% | Strong return |
| 10 | California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA | Associate's | $81,168 | $25,000 | +920% | Strong return |
| 11 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA | Associate's | $86,311 | $20,500 | +913% | Strong return |
| 12 | Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR | Associate's | $81,214 | — | +903% | Strong return |
| 13 | Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH | Associate's | $84,092 | $18,295 | +846% | Strong return |
| 14 | Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD | Certificate | $122,821 | $21,333 | +838% | Strong return |
| 15 | Oregon State University Corvallis, OR | Associate's | $81,214 | — | +824% | Strong return |
| 16 | Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI | Associate's | $77,977 | $26,000 | +772% | Strong return |
| 17 | University of Delaware Newark, DE | Associate's | $82,285 | $26,950 | +721% | Strong return |
| 18 | University of Wisconsin-Platteville Platteville, WI | Associate's | $74,875 | $19,500 | +663% | Strong return |
| 19 | Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO | Associate's | $76,698 | $25,375 | +658% | Strong return |
| 20 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO | Associate's | $84,918 | $20,836 | +585% | Strong return |
| 21 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ | Associate's | $70,312 | $19,725 | +582% | Strong return |
| 22 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY | Associate's | $87,212 | $13,176 | +579% | Strong return |
| 23 | Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ | Associate's | $70,453 | $27,000 | +567% | Strong return |
| 24 | Clemson University Clemson, SC | Associate's | $78,185 | $20,500 | +539% | Strong return |
| 25 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO | Associate's | $77,901 | $26,747 | +529% | Strong return |
Related majors
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. ROI is computed by Degree Return — see how. Read the methodology. Data as of 2024.