Best degree programs for Environmental Engineers, ranked by enrollment
3 college programs and 158 schools train Environmental Engineers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $107,110 median wage, 38,340 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
3 college programs at 158 schools train environmental engineers, graduating 2,936 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. The job pays a median of $107,110 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About environmental engineers
Research, design, plan, or perform engineering duties in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental hazards using various engineering disciplines. Work may include waste treatment, site remediation, or pollution control technology.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
3 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 14.1401 | 2,877 | 98.0% | 152 | $64,608 | $23,250 |
| 2 | CIP 14.0805 | 40 | 1.4% | 11 | $69,574 | $24,625 |
| 3 | CIP 14.0802 | 19 | 0.6% | 7 | $69,574 | $24,625 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What environmental engineers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $130,410 | 4,550 | 1.01× | 14 | 331 |
| New York | $101,270 | 3,170 | 1.33× | 12 | 317 |
| Florida | $116,840 | 1,800 | 0.73× | 8 | 217 |
| Texas | $123,060 | 1,940 | 0.56× | 12 | 192 |
| Coloradomoderate | $106,890 | 1,320 | 1.86× | 4 | 183 |
| Pennsylvania | $103,330 | 1,750 | 1.17× | 13 | 168 |
| Georgiamoderate | $96,530 | 830 | 0.69× | 4 | 151 |
| Michigan | $105,080 | 810 | 0.74× | 7 | 151 |
| Indianamoderate | $92,460 | 520 | 0.66× | 4 | 109 |
| Ohio | $113,180 | 730 | 0.53× | 6 | 106 |
| Arizonamoderate | $93,970 | 690 | 0.86× | 3 | 85 |
| Massachusetts | $115,800 | 1,880 | 2.09× | 6 | 81 |
| Wisconsinmoderate | $89,990 | 890 | 1.22× | 4 | 74 |
| Marylandlimited | $97,570 | 1,030 | 1.51× | 2 | 65 |
| Connecticutmoderate | $114,710 | 450 | 1.07× | 4 | 57 |
| Montanalimited | $100,140 | 300 | 2.42× | 2 | 53 |
| Illinois | $107,990 | 940 | 0.62× | 5 | 49 |
| South Carolinalimited | $96,140 | 560 | 0.99× | 2 | 45 |
| Missourimoderate | $98,170 | 510 | 0.70× | 3 | 43 |
| North Carolinalimited | $99,440 | — | — | 2 | 42 |
| Oregonlimited | $127,100 | 650 | 1.35× | 2 | 38 |
| Washingtonmoderate | $125,460 | 1,920 | 2.19× | 3 | 34 |
| Iowalimited | $94,830 | 150 | 0.38× | 2 | 29 |
| Vermontlimited | $92,580 | 110 | 1.45× | 1 | 29 |
| Minnesotalimited | $115,750 | 1,080 | 1.49× | 2 | 26 |
| New Jerseymoderate | $102,630 | 990 | 0.94× | 3 | 26 |
| Delawarelimited | $95,720 | 150 | 1.23× | 1 | 24 |
| Tennesseelimited | $97,190 | 540 | 0.67× | 2 | 24 |
| Alabamalimited | $102,650 | 780 | 1.50× | 2 | 22 |
| Louisianalimited | $130,510 | 340 | 0.72× | 2 | 20 |
| North Dakotalimited | $91,370 | 90 | 0.85× | 2 | 17 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $88,610 | 210 | 1.25× | 1 | 17 |
| New Mexicomoderate | $108,360 | 500 | 2.35× | 3 | 17 |
| Oklahomalimited | $92,090 | 530 | 1.26× | 2 | 17 |
| Nevadalimited | $109,720 | 290 | 0.77× | 1 | 16 |
| Utahlimited | $103,380 | 410 | 0.96× | 1 | 13 |
| Kansaslimited | $94,070 | 320 | 0.90× | 2 | 11 |
| Virginialimited | $104,940 | 1,010 | 1.00× | 1 | 11 |
| Nebraskalimited | $120,620 | 270 | 1.08× | 1 | 6 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $101,140 | 200 | 1.61× | 1 | 6 |
| West Virginialimited | $83,200 | 370 | 2.14× | 1 | 3 |
| Alaskalimited | $110,220 | 260 | 3.28× | 1 | 2 |
| Idaholimited | $117,520 | 400 | 1.89× | 1 | 1 |
| Kentuckylimited | $107,520 | 350 | 0.70× | 1 | 1 |
| Wyominglimited | $106,330 | 200 | 2.92× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality.
- Assess the existing or potential environmental impact of land use projects on air, water, or land.
- Collaborate with environmental scientists, planners, hazardous waste technicians, engineers, experts in law or business, or other specialists to address environmental problems.
- Advise corporations or government agencies of procedures to follow in cleaning up contaminated sites to protect people and the environment.
- Develop proposed project objectives and targets and report to management on progress in attaining them.
- Monitor progress of environmental improvement programs.
- Prepare, review, or update environmental investigation or recommendation reports.
- Prepare, maintain, or revise quality assurance documentation or procedures.
Skills
- Writing4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Monitoring4.0
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Active Learning3.8
- Mathematics3.4
Knowledge areas
- Engineering and Technology5.0
- Design4.6
- Chemistry4.0
- Mathematics4.0
- Building and Construction3.9
- English Language3.8
Abilities
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Inductive Reasoning4.0
- Deductive Reasoning4.0
- Oral Expression4.0
- Written Comprehension4.0
Core activities
- Getting Information4.4
- Working with Computers4.4
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.3
- Analyzing Data or Information4.2
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings4.2
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.1
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Environmental Engineer
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 3 majors mapped to Environmental Engineers3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 14.0802Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
- 14.0805Water Resources Engineering
- 14.1401Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become an Environmental Engineer?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering, which awarded 2,877 degrees in 2024-25, 98.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Environmental Engineer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering, Civil Engineering. Together they graduate about 2,936 people a year.
How much do environmental engineers earn?+
The median is $107,110 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $69,990 at the 10th percentile to $162,220 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for environmental engineers growing?+
BLS projects a +3.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 3,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
158 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do environmental engineers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Engineer, Sanitary Engineer, Environmental Engineer, Environmental Remediation Specialist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-2081.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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