Program ranking · CIP 01.09 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Animal Science

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Animal Science (CIP 01.09) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

Compiled by PlainCollege , College outcomes data analysis

$61,176
Highest animal science earnings: 69
Colleges ranked: $36,769
#69 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $36,769 median earnings for Animal Science bachelor's (CIP 01.09) completers. University of Georgia leads at $61,176.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$61,176
#1 - University of Georgia: $36,769
#69 - the cutoff to make this list: 25+
completers required per school: 100
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

University of Georgia

$61,176
University of Wisconsin-…

$57,605
Texas A&M University-Col…

$57,324
University of Maryland-C…

$56,248
University of Arkansas

$56,136
Texas Tech University

$55,753
California Polytechnic S…

$54,805
Michigan State University

$54,751
Rutgers University-New B…

$54,509
Purdue University-Main C…

$54,089
Oklahoma State Universit…

$53,971
Colorado State Universit…

$53,934
University of Kentucky

$53,918
South Dakota State Unive…

$53,784
California State Univers…

$53,579

What this shows Animal-science pay tracks ag-industry and vet-prep pipelines - debt still matters when medians sit below clinical health fields.

The full top 69

#	School Name	State	Median Earnings	Median Debt	Completers
1	University of Georgia	GA	$61,176	$18,250	88
2	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	$57,605	$25,000	46
3	Texas A&M University-College Station	TX	$57,324	$17,592	375
4	University of Maryland-College Park	MD	$56,248	$21,500	68
5	University of Arkansas	AR	$56,136	$21,616	88
6	Texas Tech University	TX	$55,753	$20,000	199
7	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	$54,805	$20,500	165
8	Michigan State University	MI	$54,751	$25,023	126
9	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$54,509	$24,250	74
10	Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	$54,089	$19,500	146
11	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	$53,971	$18,750	200
12	Colorado State University-Fort Collins	CO	$53,934	$21,500	88
13	University of Kentucky	KY	$53,918	$20,800	40
14	South Dakota State University	SD	$53,784	$21,349	117
15	California State University-Fresno	CA	$53,579	$17,500	88
16	University of Wisconsin-Platteville	WI	$53,530	$18,748	47
17	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	NC	$53,226	$20,921	213
18	Auburn University	AL	$53,117	$19,500	100
19	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	CA	$53,017	$15,167	139
20	Cornell University	NY	$52,967	$12,730	75
21	Mississippi State University	MS	$52,755	$19,719	74
22	West Virginia University	WV	$52,548	$19,500	69
23	Iowa State University	IA	$51,644	$20,500	241
24	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	$51,271	$19,000	104
25	Texas State University	TX	$51,157	$20,875	64
26	North Dakota State University-Main Campus	ND	$50,975	$21,439	51
27	Kansas State University	KS	$50,941	$20,500	238
28	University of Maine	ME	$50,825	$25,000	39
29	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	$50,769	$21,500	148
30	SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill	NY	$50,491	$20,000	66
31	University of Rhode Island	RI	$50,203	$19,613	75
32	University of Delaware	DE	$49,999	$22,683	27
33	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	$49,772	$25,000	95
34	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	$49,656	$20,265	101
35	Sam Houston State University	TX	$49,636	$19,750	123
36	Delaware Valley University	PA	$49,225	$25,569	71
37	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	$49,193	$20,645	99
38	University of Wyoming	WY	$49,092	$17,750	50
39	University of Wisconsin-River Falls	WI	$48,680	$21,224	184
40	California State University-Chico	CA	$48,474	$17,606	67
41	University of Vermont	VT	$48,468	$23,250	73
42	University of California-Davis	CA	$48,441	$13,000	368
43	North Carolina A & T State University	NC	$48,155	$27,156	83
44	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$48,026	$19,000	131
45	University of Missouri-Columbia	MO	$47,983	$19,500	81
46	Clemson University	SC	$47,853	$21,500	107
47	University of Florida	FL	$47,724	$15,000	146
48	University of Connecticut	CT	$47,577	$22,500	69
49	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA	$47,224	$22,250	164
50	The University of Findlay	OH	$46,977	$26,000	32
51	Montana State University	MT	$46,313	$23,149	41
52	Oregon State University	OR	$45,959	$21,391	63
53	Angelo State University	TX	$45,758	$18,625	43
54	University of Arizona	AZ	$45,548	$18,527	25
55	Texas A&M University-Kingsville	TX	$44,214	$22,400	42
56	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	LA	$43,797	$22,750	105
57	Tarleton State University	TX	$43,185	$20,810	121
58	University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	$42,671	$23,027	27
59	Middle Tennessee State University	TN	$41,965	$18,166	44
60	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	IL	$41,932	$21,936	27
61	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	$41,658	$19,593	59
62	Washington State University	WA	$41,634	$18,000	107
63	East Texas A&M University	TX	$41,105	$19,000	42
64	University of Idaho	ID	$40,935	$25,000	49
65	Tuskegee University	AL	$39,949	$27,000	53
66	Utah State University	UT	$39,041	$15,549	64
67	University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez	PR	$37,629	$7,125	128
68	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	NM	$36,858	$18,489	67
69	Louisiana Tech University	LA	$36,769	$24,800	33

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Animal Science (CIP 01.09) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Animal Science (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. This list covers Animal Sciences (CIP 01.09) bachelor's programs only - zoology/animal biology (CIP 26.07) and wildlife biology (CIP 03.06) are ranked separately when demand warrants.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.