Master's · Dekalb, Illinois

Is Public Health at Northern Illinois University worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 6.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $65,825; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $80,547; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $43,000; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $46k (likely $46k – $46k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $16k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in IL; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 6.5 years (likely 3.8–18.0); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$71k (likely −$199k – $69k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $154k (likely −$127k – $481k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.