ROI Major

Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering at SUNY College of Environment Science & Forestry

NY · Bachelor's Degree · CIP 14.14

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering degree from SUNY College of Environment Science & Forestry earn a median salary of $78,843 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $59,730. The degree typically pays for itself in 5 years.

Quick Insights

Solid Investment

How this degree looks at a glance

A fast read on salary range, break-even speed, living-cost impact, and where graduates from this school usually land.

Salary Ranges

Starting Range

$67,200

Typical Career

$78,843

Top Performers

$91,355

Estimated break-even: 5 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$526

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $6,570. Most students can comfortably afford about a $526 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 2.0x more than the average US high school graduate and 1.0x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in New York buys what costs $1.32 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Public Administration, Educational Services.

Where Bachelor's Graduates from This School Work

Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 22.7%
Public Administration 13.9%
Educational Services 10.6%

Institution-wide industry mix for graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.

5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent

$59,730

Nominal: $78,843 in New York (COL 132.0% of national avg) · 24.2% lower purchasing power

10-Year Earnings Curve

Break-Even Timeline

How long until cumulative earnings advantage exceeds total college investment (tuition + opportunity cost vs. entering workforce directly after high school).

5 years to break even
Graduation 15 years

Total Investment

$155,168

4yr tuition + 4yr opportunity cost

HS Graduate Baseline

$38,792/yr

BLS 2023 median, HS diploma

View Raw Data: Median Earnings by Year
Timeframe 25th Pct. Median (50th) 75th Pct.
1 Year After Graduation $46,789 $61,408 $72,104
5 Years After Graduation $67,200 $78,843 $91,355
10 Years After Graduation $67,797 $86,488 $108,882

Source: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), 2025 release. Earnings shown for Bachelor's degree graduates (all cohorts combined).

How We Calculate Purchasing Power

The median salary of $78,843 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in NY, which has a cost-of-living index of 132.0% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $78,843 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $59,730 National Average equivalent.

COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →

Compare with Another School

See how the Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering degree at SUNY College of Environment Science & Forestry stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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Data sources: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO). Cost-of-living index: BLS Regional CPI & MIT Living Wage Project. Cost of attendance: IPEDS. For informational use only; data may be suppressed for small cohort sizes.