Ranked

Highest paying college majors in the US

Ranked on what graduates earn two years after finishing — every major we hold federal earnings for, best first.

#MajorLevelGradeMedian earningsTypical rangeGraduates/yr
1 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services Master's A $133,319 $89,841–$166,905 504
2 Computer Science Master's A $94,408 $78,971–$106,421 22,158
3 Computer Engineering Master's A $94,408 $84,653–$104,192 5,898
4 Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering Master's A $92,632 $82,440–$97,959 9,188
5 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration Master's A $92,124 $76,460–$100,849 1,995
6 Engineering, General Master's A $88,982 $78,343–$90,412 3,783
7 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management Master's A $85,465 $75,518–$97,071 11,140
8 Industrial Engineering Master's B $83,547 $70,009–$89,059 2,737
9 Mechanical Engineering Master's B $81,702 $75,518–$86,129 7,395
10 Statistics Master's B $81,263 $75,706–$87,604 3,703
11 Computer and Information Sciences, General Master's B $80,705 $71,015–$94,408 29,526
12 Chemical Engineering Master's B $76,460 $73,949–$83,546 1,687
13 Finance and Financial Management Services Master's B $74,576 $64,196–$87,973 4,158
14 Civil Engineering Master's B $71,015 $66,169–$74,200 4,960
15 Computer Engineering Bachelor's A $71,015 $63,749–$75,804 12,137
16 Business/Commerce, General Master's B $70,876 $59,895–$84,653 9,081
17 Management Information Systems and Services Master's B $69,535 $66,885–$82,440 2,009
18 Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering Bachelor's A $69,338 $66,461–$72,699 15,611
19 Industrial Engineering Bachelor's A $68,047 $63,005–$71,643 5,205
20 Chemical Engineering Bachelor's A $67,073 $60,714–$72,022 8,935
21 Physics Master's C $66,207 $53,984–$71,575 2,152
22 Computer Science Bachelor's A $66,073 $57,995–$74,576 43,677
23 Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's A $64,990 $61,218–$68,219 33,840
24 Business Administration, Management and Operations Master's C $64,706 $55,964–$78,719 119,231
25 Economics Master's C $64,290 $57,318–$70,596 5,317
26 Health and Medical Administrative Services Master's C $62,818 $52,941–$71,015 15,738
27 Engineering, General Bachelor's A $61,516 $57,318–$65,573 2,693
28 Civil Engineering Bachelor's B $60,523 $57,318–$63,921 14,335
29 Accounting and Related Services Master's C $59,954 $57,318–$64,493 15,854
30 Marketing Master's C $58,693 $46,087–$76,460 3,059
31 Computer and Information Sciences, General Bachelor's B $58,157 $50,439–$67,660 44,025
32 Management Information Systems and Services Bachelor's B $56,099 $46,478–$61,303 7,889
33 Chemistry Master's C $55,108 $44,384–$72,231 2,413
34 Geography and Cartography Master's C $54,713 $52,733–$63,005 1,193
35 Statistics Bachelor's B $53,897 $47,650–$61,516 5,318
36 Mathematics Master's C $52,959 $44,021–$62,012 2,572
37 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management Bachelor's B $51,035 $48,432–$60,192 11,636
38 Finance and Financial Management Services Bachelor's B $49,864 $44,356–$55,348 47,431
39 Hospitality Administration/Management Master's C $49,058 $45,383–$57,860 1,226
40 Special Education and Teaching Master's C $48,685 $44,021–$54,275 19,550

Why engineering, computing and health lead every list like this

The majors at the top feed occupations with a licence, a shortage, or both. That is a fact about the labour market rather than about the difficulty of the subject — and it is why the same handful of fields tops this table in every country that publishes graduate earnings.

The gap inside a major is wider than the gap between majors

Each row is a median across every US programme in that field. Open any one and the range between the 25th and 75th programme is often $20,000 or more. Where you study, and what you do alongside the degree, moves your number more than swapping subjects does.

Questions

What is the highest paying college major?
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Master's) — $133,319 median earnings two years after finishing, across 34 US programmes.
Are these starting salaries?
No. They are median earnings two years after students completed the degree, taken from tax records rather than surveys or job adverts.
Can I compare a master's with a bachelor's here?
Only with care. Each grade is a percentile inside its own credential level, so an A master's and an A bachelor's are both top-of-their-level rather than equal in salary.
All degree grades Most popular majors Lowest earning majors University costs & payback Scholarships

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study earnings, measured two years after completion. Majors with too few programmes publishing earnings are left out rather than estimated.