by our College Data Analytics Team
[Forestry](/majors/natural-resources-conservation/forestry/) is a field where your choice of school can shape what you earn after graduation. The highest-paying schools turn a forestry degree into the strongest early-career earnings.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 3 schools on the early-career earnings of their forestry graduates.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools send forestry graduates into the highest-paying careers, see the list below.
For graduate earnings in forestry, no school beat University Of Idaho this year. Set in the town of Moscow, University Of Idaho is a public institution. After graduating, forestry degree recipients from University Of Idaho typically earn about $60,155 annually.
Students chasing top earnings in forestry will find them at Colorado State University Fort Collins, which ranked #2. Set in the city of Fort Collins, Colorado State University Fort Collins is a public institution. Forestry graduates of Colorado State University Fort Collins earn a median of about $53,875 a year early in their careers.
The University Of Montana produces some of the highest-paid graduates in forestry, landing the #3 spot this year. Located in the city of Missoula, The University Of Montana is a public institution. Students who complete the forestry program here go on to a median salary of roughly $48,255.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology measures the salaries forestry graduates go on to earn early in their careers, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).
Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 3 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.