Majors

Best Colleges for Geology and Earth Science, by Earnings

404 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Geology and Earth Science, about 4,954 degrees a year. Across the 127 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $60,027 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	University of Oklahoma	OK	$85,207	27	76.6%
2	University of Texas at Austin	TX	$83,481	43	26.6%
3	Pennsylvania State University	PA	$81,092	82	60.6%
4	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus	PA	$81,092	2	91.2%
5	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$79,143	12	9%
6	Texas A&M University	TX	$74,594	65	57.4%
7	Texas Tech University	TX	$74,591	20	72.7%
8	San Diego State University	CA	$73,647	8	36.2%
9	California State University-Sacramento	CA	$73,418	14	94%
10	University of California-Davis	CA	$73,337	19	41.8%
11	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	CA	$73,305	19	75.2%
12	Lehigh University	PA	$72,978	18	25.9%
13	Colorado State University	CO	$71,631	24	88.5%
14	University of California-Irvine	CA	$70,820	25	28.6%
15	University of South Carolina	SC	$70,284	27	60.2%
16	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$70,106	10	58.1%
17	Rutgers University-Newark	NJ	$70,106	1	71.4%
18	California State University-Bakersfield	CA	$69,989	14	93.9%
19	University of Florida	FL	$69,943	27	24.2%
20	University of Connecticut	CT	$69,610	19	52.4%
21	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	$69,227	38	31.3%
22	University of Wyoming	WY	$68,883	29	96.9%
23	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$68,201	11	42.4%
24	University of Houston	TX	$68,127	19	73.9%
25	Louisiana State University	LA	$67,493	33	73.3%
26	Western Washington University	WA	$67,208	41	93.3%
27	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	$66,922	8	85%
28	University of Washington	WA	$66,845	89	39.1%
29	University of Washington-Bothell Campus	WA	$66,845	5	90.6%
30	West Virginia University	WV	$66,798	14	89%
31	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	$66,788	54	33%
32	Florida State University	FL	$66,157	9	24.2%
33	University of Southern Mississippi	MS	$66,142	13	99.1%
34	Montclair State University	NJ	$65,826	23	87.9%
35	The University of Texas at Arlington	TX	$65,294	17	79.9%
36	Iowa State University	IA	$65,204	17	88.7%
37	State University of New York at Oswego	NY	$64,634	12	80.6%
38	University of California-Santa Cruz	CA	$64,499	55	65.8%
39	SUNY Oneonta	NY	$64,410	14	69.6%
40	College of Charleston	SC	$63,993	28	60%
41	University of Minnesota-Duluth	MN	$63,893	8	88.8%
42	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	WI	$63,838	13	90.7%
43	Eastern Connecticut State University	CT	$63,566	16	83%
44	University of Arizona	AZ	$63,387	64	86.1%
45	Auburn University	AL	$63,298	10	45.9%
46	University of Utah	UT	$62,867	26	86%
47	Michigan State University	MI	$62,448	24	84.8%
48	Southern New Hampshire University	NH	$62,360	91	99.5%
49	Mississippi State University	MS	$62,082	70	77.6%
50	SUNY College at Potsdam	NY	$62,004	10	77.7%
51	Grand Valley State University	MI	$61,868	14	83%
52	University of Kansas	KS	$61,838	11	93.5%
53	University of South Alabama	AL	$61,632	6	71%
54	University of Illinois Chicago	IL	$61,206	29	77.3%
55	North Carolina State University	NC	$61,023	34	41.7%
56	University of Michigan	MI	$60,949	54	15.6%
57	University of Minnesota	MN	$60,715	11	79.8%
58	University of South Florida	FL	$60,472	27	43.2%
59	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	$60,453	20	78.1%
60	University of North Carolina Wilmington	NC	$60,414	24	64.2%
61	Northern Arizona University	AZ	$60,402	20	89.6%
62	University of West Georgia	GA	$60,355	4	51.6%
63	Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania	PA	$60,075	33	93.1%
64	State University of New York at Cortland	NY	$60,027	1	59.8%
65	Virginia Tech	VA	$59,969	19	54.8%
66	University at Buffalo	NY	$59,841	45	74.2%
67	University of California-Riverside	CA	$59,677	11	76.4%
68	Miami University-Oxford	OH	$59,558	32	75.4%
69	Salem State University	MA	$59,424	11	95.9%
70	Missouri University of Science and Technology	MO	$59,252	9	72.6%
71	California State University-Fullerton	CA	$58,891	27	90.5%
72	The University of Texas at Dallas	TX	$58,840	15	65.1%
73	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	$58,771	22	45.2%
74	Pacific Lutheran University	WA	$58,472	11	78%
75	Western Michigan University	MI	$58,164	14	84.6%
76	University of New Hampshire	NH	$58,045	12	88.2%
77	University of Northern Colorado	CO	$57,989	14	85.9%
78	Portland State University	OR	$57,932	26	90.9%
79	University of Houston-Downtown	TX	$57,892	12	90%
80	Pennsylvania Western University	PA	$57,549	13	94.3%
81	The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	$57,540	21	86.8%
82	University of Pittsburgh	PA	$57,456	82	58.1%
83	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown	PA	$57,456	10	94.8%
84	University of Pittsburgh-Bradford	PA	$57,456	4	88.5%
85	Central Michigan University	MI	$57,438	1	89.8%
86	Wayne State University	MI	$57,203	19	81.2%
87	Lake Superior State University	MI	$56,905	5
88	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	WI	$56,739	22	82.3%
89	Middle Tennessee State University	TN	$56,405	11	69.1%
90	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania	PA	$56,402	18	71.5%
91	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	PA	$56,380	5	90.8%
92	Fort Lewis College	CO	$56,304	14	77.3%
93	Old Dominion University	VA	$56,255	15	90.4%
94	Sam Houston State University	TX	$55,954	10	90.3%
95	SUNY College at Geneseo	NY	$55,018	23	66.5%
96	Boise State University	ID	$53,995	16	87.2%
97	Central Washington University	WA	$53,987	25	90.6%
98	Binghamton University	NY	$53,761	20	38.6%
99	University of Akron Main Campus	OH	$53,594	17	59.7%
100	Tennessee Technological University	TN	$53,479	13	76.1%

Showing the top 100 of 127 colleges that report earnings. 277 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Geology and Earth Science graduates?

University of Oklahoma ($85,207), University of Texas at Austin ($83,481), Pennsylvania State University ($81,092), Pennsylvania State University-World Campus ($81,092), University of California-Los Angeles ($79,143) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Geology and Earth Science majors make?

The median across 127 colleges is $60,027 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $37,839 to $85,207.

Which colleges have the biggest Geology and Earth Science programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Washington State University (130), Southern New Hampshire University (91), University of Washington (89), Pennsylvania State University (82), University of Pittsburgh (82).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.