by our College Data Analytics Team
[Forestry](/majors/natural-resources-conservation/forestry/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong forestry education at a price that pays off.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools to find the best return on investment for forestry students.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the forestry degrees they offer, see the list below.
For return on investment in forestry, no school beat Southern Illinois University Carbondale this year. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a large public school located in the town of Carbondale. Students from in state pay about $13,334 in tuition and fees. Forestry graduates carry a median of $21,512 in student loans. Early-career forestry graduates make about $35,398. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Roughly 87% of applicants are accepted.
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 4 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.