{
  "major": "Forestry",
  "slug": "forestry",
  "field": "Physical & Earth Sciences",
  "as_of": "2026",
  "url": "https://collegeranked.com/best-forestry-schools/",
  "source": "U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2026 release); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics",
  "metric_definitions": {
    "median_earnings": "Median earnings one year after graduation (Scorecard)",
    "net_price": "Average annual cost of attendance after grant aid. For PUBLIC schools this reflects IN-STATE cost; out-of-state students pay more.",
    "roi_10yr_usd": "Ten years of earnings minus four years of net price",
    "score": "CollegeRanked Score (0-100) — the composite that sets rank order; see /methodology/#score",
    "public": "true = public university (net_price is in-state basis); false = private (residency-neutral)"
  },
  "total_colleges_with_reported_data": 31,
  "shown": 31,
  "ranking": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "school": "North Carolina State University at Raleigh",
      "state": "NC",
      "median_earnings": 61142,
      "net_price": 17303,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 542208,
      "score": 56,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "school": "California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 55092,
      "net_price": 16665,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 484260,
      "score": 56,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "school": "University of Georgia",
      "state": "GA",
      "median_earnings": 47214,
      "net_price": 13936,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 416396,
      "score": 56,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "school": "California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 52810,
      "net_price": 13171,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 475416,
      "score": 54,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "school": "Michigan Technological University",
      "state": "MI",
      "median_earnings": 45571,
      "net_price": 14182,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 398982,
      "score": 50,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 6,
      "school": "University of Idaho",
      "state": "ID",
      "median_earnings": 47399,
      "net_price": 14831,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 414666,
      "score": 49,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 7,
      "school": "University of Minnesota-Twin Cities",
      "state": "MN",
      "median_earnings": 43842,
      "net_price": 16778,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 371308,
      "score": 47,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 8,
      "school": "Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College",
      "state": "GA",
      "median_earnings": 40065,
      "net_price": 6842,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 373282,
      "score": 47,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 9,
      "school": "Northern Arizona University",
      "state": "AZ",
      "median_earnings": 40435,
      "net_price": 14158,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 347718,
      "score": 46,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 10,
      "school": "University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point",
      "state": "WI",
      "median_earnings": 41177,
      "net_price": 14559,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 353534,
      "score": 45,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 11,
      "school": "Mississippi State University",
      "state": "MS",
      "median_earnings": 40219,
      "net_price": 17595,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 331810,
      "score": 45,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 12,
      "school": "Auburn University",
      "state": "AL",
      "median_earnings": 51421,
      "net_price": 24323,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 416918,
      "score": 43,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 13,
      "school": "Louisiana Tech University",
      "state": "LA",
      "median_earnings": 44120,
      "net_price": 11864,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 393744,
      "score": 42,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 14,
      "school": "West Virginia University",
      "state": "WV",
      "median_earnings": 43228,
      "net_price": 15634,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 369744,
      "score": 42,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 15,
      "school": "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University",
      "state": "VA",
      "median_earnings": 45817,
      "net_price": 24953,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 358358,
      "score": 41,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 16,
      "school": "Clemson University",
      "state": "SC",
      "median_earnings": 53850,
      "net_price": 22253,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 449488,
      "score": 40,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 17,
      "school": "Purdue University-Main Campus",
      "state": "IN",
      "median_earnings": 43029,
      "net_price": 14600,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 371890,
      "score": 38,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 18,
      "school": "Southern Illinois University-Carbondale",
      "state": "IL",
      "median_earnings": 35398,
      "net_price": 13297,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 300792,
      "score": 38,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 19,
      "school": "University of Maine",
      "state": "ME",
      "median_earnings": 43901,
      "net_price": 17510,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 368970,
      "score": 36,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 20,
      "school": "Stephen F Austin State University",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 39953,
      "net_price": 14260,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 342490,
      "score": 35,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 21,
      "school": "Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 44342,
      "net_price": 26683,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 336688,
      "score": 34,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 22,
      "school": "Pennsylvania State University-Penn State DuBois",
      "state": "PA",
      "median_earnings": 41189,
      "net_price": 17428,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 342178,
      "score": 34,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 23,
      "school": "University of Florida",
      "state": "FL",
      "median_earnings": 26838,
      "net_price": 6541,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 242216,
      "score": 33,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 24,
      "school": "Colorado State University-Fort Collins",
      "state": "CO",
      "median_earnings": 37539,
      "net_price": 21279,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 290274,
      "score": 32,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 25,
      "school": "Texas A&M University-College Station",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 40314,
      "net_price": 21315,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 317880,
      "score": 31,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 26,
      "school": "Michigan State University",
      "state": "MI",
      "median_earnings": 39178,
      "net_price": 19680,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 313060,
      "score": 31,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 27,
      "school": "Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus",
      "state": "PA",
      "median_earnings": 41189,
      "net_price": 32875,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 280390,
      "score": 30,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 28,
      "school": "Iowa State University",
      "state": "IA",
      "median_earnings": 39337,
      "net_price": 18589,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 319014,
      "score": 30,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 29,
      "school": "University of Kentucky",
      "state": "KY",
      "median_earnings": 32573,
      "net_price": 18851,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 250326,
      "score": 30,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 30,
      "school": "The University of Montana",
      "state": "MT",
      "median_earnings": 31138,
      "net_price": 16784,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 244244,
      "score": 26,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 31,
      "school": "The University of Tennessee-Knoxville",
      "state": "TN",
      "median_earnings": 31441,
      "net_price": 18976,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 238506,
      "score": 22,
      "public": true
    }
  ]
}