by our College Data Analytics Team
[Public Health](/majors/health-care-professions/public-health/) is a field where your choice of school can shape what you earn after graduation. The highest-paying schools turn a public health degree into the strongest early-career earnings.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 5 schools on the early-career earnings of their public health graduates.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools whose public health graduates go on to earn the most.
Leading the list is University Of South Carolina Columbia, our #1 for public health graduate salaries in South Carolina. Set in the city of Columbia, University Of South Carolina Columbia is a public institution. Public Health graduates of University Of South Carolina Columbia earn a median of about $58,008 a year early in their careers.
Students chasing top earnings in public health will find them at College Of Charleston, which ranked #2. College Of Charleston is a public school located in the city of Charleston. Early-career public health graduates from College Of Charleston make a median of around $54,405 per year.
Students chasing top earnings in public health will find them at Coastal Carolina University, which ranked #3. Located in the city of Conway, Coastal Carolina University is a public institution. Students who complete the public health program here go on to a median salary of roughly $52,470.
Strong graduate earnings at South University Columbia earned it the #4 place for public health. South University Columbia is a private for-profit school located in the suburb of Columbia. Public Health graduates of South University Columbia earn a median of about $34,789 a year early in their careers.
A rank of #5 makes University Of South Carolina Beaufort one of the highest-paying schools for public health. University Of South Carolina Beaufort is a public school located in the town of Bluffton. After graduating, public health degree recipients from University Of South Carolina Beaufort typically earn about $33,628 annually.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. Schools are ranked on the median early-career earnings of their public health graduates, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).
Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 5 schools evaluated.
*Salary figures reflect median early-career earnings (about 5 years after graduation) and may vary by how long a person takes to complete their degree.
More about our data sources and methodologies.