The public health workforce stands on the front lines protecting Americans from a wide range of threats, like major disease outbreaks and foodborne illnesses or chronic disease. Yet a new study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH) and the de Beaumont Foundation finds that people planning careers in public health are more burdened by student loan debt than ever before—creating a significant barrier to recruiting and retaining the public health workforce, and underscoring the need for policy programs to help alleviate student debt.

To conduct the study, researchers analyzed student loan data from the 2024 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS), which included nearly 57,000 respondents from state and local health departments across the U.S. Published in the American Journal of Public Health, the study included several key findings:

• Student loan debt is widespread and often substantial. More than 40% of public health workers reported having student loan debt, and among those with any balance, the average remaining amount was about $48,000.
• Debt is not limited to younger workers. Although younger employees are more likely to have student loans, more than one-third of borrowers ages 36 to49 still owed at least half of their original loan balance.
• Debt varies by education, race, and job level. Workers with doctoral and master’s degrees had significantly higher remaining balances than those with bachelor’s degrees. Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and multiracial workers reported higher average debt than white workers, and managers carried higher balances than nonsupervisory staff.

The authors note that loan forgiveness and repayment programs, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness and the now-expired Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program, could play an important role in addressing staffing shortages, and called on policy makers to bolster support for these programs.

“Student loan debt has become a real barrier for people who want to serve in the public sector in general and public health in particular, especially when governmental public health salaries often can’t compete with the private sector,” said JP Leider, lead author, SPH associate professor and director of the Center for Public Health Systems. “Loan forgiveness and repayment programs can make a meaningful difference, but eligibility rules, funding limits, and recent policy changes may reduce their availability and their impact. We need a strong public health workforce to keep communities healthy and safe, and reinvesting in these programs that address student debt is an essential part of attracting and retaining public health professionals.”

“Public health workers experience a significant student debt burden, which undermines their financial stability, contributes to burnout, and affects workforce turnover,” said Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation and an author on the study. “By reducing tuition and improving loan repayment options, we can begin to close the gap between what a degree costs and what students can reasonably afford.”