Best degree programs for Foresters, ranked by enrollment
9 college programs and 211 schools train Foresters. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $76,400 median wage, 10,430 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
9 college programs at 211 schools train foresters, graduating 6,955 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Natural Resources/Conservation, General. The job pays a median of $76,400 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About foresters
Manage public and private forested lands for economic, recreational, and conservation purposes. May inventory the type, amount, and location of standing timber, appraise the timber's worth, negotiate the purchase, and draw up contracts for procurement. May determine how to conserve wildlife habitats, creek beds, water quality, and soil stability, and how best to comply with environmental regulations. May devise plans for planting and growing new trees, monitor trees for healthy growth, and determine optimal harvesting schedules.
A forester is a person who practises forest management and forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests to provide a variety of objectives including direct extraction of raw material, outdoor recreation, conservation, hunting and aesthetics. Emerging management practices include managing forestlands for biodiversity, carbon sequestration and air quality.
Read more on Wikipedia →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.
9 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 03.0101 | 3,142 | 45.2% | 130 | $34,020 | $23,032 |
| 2 | CIP 03.0201 | 1,612 | 23.2% | 72 | $37,946 | $24,125 |
| 3 | Forestry, Generalmain feeder CIP 03.0501 | 1,235 | 17.8% | 43 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 4 | Forest Sciences and Biologymain feeder CIP 03.0502 | 367 | 5.3% | 20 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 5 | CIP 03.0506 | 287 | 4.1% | 17 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 6 | Urban Forestrymain feeder CIP 03.0508 | 92 | 1.3% | 12 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 7 | Forestry, Othermain feeder CIP 03.0599 | 89 | 1.3% | 9 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 8 | CIP 03.0509 | 80 | 1.2% | 6 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
| 9 | Forest Resources Production and Managementmain feeder CIP 03.0510 | 51 | 0.7% | 7 | $42,109 | $21,842 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What foresters 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 | $107,120 | 820 | 0.67× | 21 | 905 |
| Colorado | $76,400 | 210 | 1.07× | 7 | 518 |
| Michigan | $75,920 | 340 | 1.15× | 8 | 367 |
| North Carolina | $77,870 | — | — | 6 | 365 |
| Virginia | $71,990 | 340 | 1.24× | 5 | 289 |
| Oregon | $81,450 | 670 | 5.06× | 5 | 271 |
| Texas | $80,370 | 210 | 0.22× | 8 | 266 |
| Wisconsin | $66,010 | 570 | 2.89× | 8 | 246 |
| Florida | $64,130 | 380 | 0.57× | 6 | 222 |
| Arizonalimited | $67,200 | 70 | 0.32× | 2 | 216 |
| New York | $73,710 | 280 | 0.43× | 9 | 199 |
| Minnesota | $76,490 | 390 | 1.97× | 7 | 186 |
| Ohio | $73,320 | 160 | 0.44× | 5 | 155 |
| West Virginiamoderate | $62,550 | 100 | 2.15× | 4 | 152 |
| Georgia | $76,970 | 370 | 1.11× | 5 | 145 |
| Alabamalimited | $79,530 | 240 | 1.70× | 2 | 133 |
| Idaho | $65,170 | 280 | 4.92× | 5 | 133 |
| Louisianamoderate | — | 130 | 1.04× | 3 | 128 |
| Massachusettsmoderate | $89,650 | 130 | 0.54× | 4 | 127 |
| Connecticutmoderate | $84,820 | 60 | 0.53× | 3 | 119 |
| Marylandlimited | $86,100 | 120 | 0.63× | 2 | 116 |
| Vermontlimited | $80,750 | 80 | 4.09× | 2 | 115 |
| Iowa | $83,000 | 50 | 0.51× | 9 | 113 |
| Washington | $78,460 | 950 | 4.00× | 12 | 112 |
| Pennsylvania | $78,280 | 310 | 0.77× | 5 | 108 |
| Indianalimited | $61,110 | 160 | 0.76× | 2 | 104 |
| Missourimoderate | $63,220 | 120 | 0.61× | 3 | 101 |
| South Carolinalimited | $86,780 | 250 | 1.61× | 2 | 99 |
| Tennesseemoderate | $71,990 | 120 | 0.56× | 4 | 91 |
| Mainelimited | $66,480 | 70 | 1.71× | 2 | 78 |
| Mississippimoderate | $71,280 | 110 | 1.41× | 3 | 77 |
| Kentuckylimited | $56,460 | 120 | 0.87× | 1 | 71 |
| Montana | $67,200 | 240 | 6.95× | 6 | 68 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $65,170 | 110 | 2.46× | 2 | 67 |
| Illinoismoderate | $82,160 | 220 | 0.55× | 3 | 60 |
| Arkansasmoderate | $69,240 | 130 | 1.49× | 3 | 34 |
| Nevadalimited | $51,070 | — | — | 2 | 23 |
| Alaskamoderate | $87,210 | 80 | 3.85× | 3 | 21 |
| South Dakotalimited | $64,460 | 120 | 3.89× | 1 | 13 |
| Utahlimited | $75,210 | 40 | 0.35× | 1 | 13 |
| New Mexicolimited | $69,240 | 50 | 0.85× | 1 | 10 |
| Oklahoma | $50,990 | 120 | 1.06× | 5 | 10 |
| Wyominglimited | $68,180 | 60 | 3.09× | 1 | 3 |
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
- Monitor contract compliance and results of forestry activities to assure adherence to government regulations.
- Negotiate terms and conditions of agreements and contracts for forest harvesting, forest management and leasing of forest lands.
- Plan and implement projects for conservation of wildlife habitats and soil and water quality.
- Establish short- and long-term plans for management of forest lands and forest resources.
- Plan cutting programs and manage timber sales from harvested areas, assisting companies to achieve production goals.
- Determine methods of cutting and removing timber with minimum waste and environmental damage.
- Perform inspections of forests or forest nurseries.
- Map forest area soils and vegetation to estimate the amount of standing timber and future value and growth.
Skills
- Active Listening4.0
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Speaking3.9
- Writing3.8
- Monitoring3.8
- Active Learning3.1
- Mathematics2.9
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service3.9
- English Language3.8
- Administration and Management3.8
- Biology3.7
- Law and Government3.4
- Mathematics3.3
Abilities
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Information Ordering3.9
- Inductive Reasoning3.9
- Deductive Reasoning3.9
- Category Flexibility3.9
- Oral Expression3.9
Core activities
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.5
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.4
- Communicating with People Outside the Organization4.3
- Documenting/Recording Information4.3
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings4.2
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.2
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Forester
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 9 majors mapped to Foresters9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 03.0101Natural Resources/Conservation, General
- 03.0201Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, General
- 03.0501Forestry, General
- 03.0502Forest Sciences and Biology
- 03.0506Forest Management/Forest Resources Management
- 03.0508Urban Forestry
- 03.0509Wood Science and Wood Products/Pulp and Paper Technology/Technician
- 03.0510Forest Resources Production and Management
- 03.0599Forestry, Other
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 a Forester?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Natural Resources/Conservation, General, which awarded 3,142 degrees in 2024-25, 45.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Forester?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 9 programs to this occupation. The largest are Natural Resources Conservation and Research, Forestry, Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy. Together they graduate about 6,955 people a year.
How much do foresters earn?+
The median is $76,400 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $50,790 at the 10th percentile to $109,700 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 foresters growing?+
BLS projects a +1.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 1,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
211 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 9 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 foresters work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Forester, Area Forester, Silviculturist, Timber Sales Administrator (Timber Sales Admin) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-1032.
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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