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 Master's A $133,319 $89,841–$166,905 504
2 Nursing Master's A $96,126 $90,678–$105,392 49,755
3 Computer Science Master's A $94,408 $78,971–$106,421 22,158
4 Computer Engineering Master's A $94,408 $84,653–$104,192 5,898
5 Electrical Engineering Master's A $92,632 $82,440–$97,959 9,188
6 Pharmacy Master's A $92,124 $76,460–$100,849 1,995
7 Engineering Master's A $88,982 $78,343–$90,412 3,783
8 Information Technology Management Master's B $85,465 $75,518–$97,071 11,140
9 Industrial Engineering Master's B $83,547 $70,009–$89,059 2,737
10 Mechanical Engineering Master's B $81,702 $75,518–$86,129 7,395
11 Statistics Master's B $81,263 $75,706–$87,604 3,703
12 Computer and Information Sciences Master's B $80,705 $71,015–$94,408 29,526
13 Chemical Engineering Master's B $76,460 $73,949–$83,546 1,687
14 Finance Master's B $74,576 $64,196–$87,973 4,158
15 Civil Engineering Master's B $71,015 $66,169–$74,200 4,960
16 Computer Engineering Bachelor's A $71,015 $63,749–$75,804 12,137
17 Business Master's B $70,876 $59,895–$84,653 9,081
18 Management Information Systems Master's B $69,535 $66,885–$82,440 2,009
19 Electrical Engineering Bachelor's A $69,338 $66,461–$72,699 15,611
20 Industrial Engineering Bachelor's A $68,047 $63,005–$71,643 5,205
21 Chemical Engineering Bachelor's A $67,073 $60,714–$72,022 8,935
22 Physics Master's C $66,207 $53,984–$71,575 2,152
23 Computer Science Bachelor's A $66,073 $57,995–$74,576 43,677
24 Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's A $64,990 $61,218–$68,219 33,840
25 Business Administration Master's C $64,706 $55,964–$78,719 119,231
26 Economics Master's C $64,290 $57,318–$70,596 5,317
27 Healthcare Administration Master's C $62,818 $52,941–$71,015 15,738
28 Nursing Bachelor's A $62,616 $58,078–$69,419 152,735
29 Engineering Bachelor's A $61,516 $57,318–$65,573 2,693
30 Civil Engineering Bachelor's B $60,523 $57,318–$63,921 14,335
31 Accounting Master's C $59,954 $57,318–$64,493 15,854
32 Marketing Master's C $58,693 $46,087–$76,460 3,059
33 Computer and Information Sciences Bachelor's B $58,157 $50,439–$67,660 44,025
34 Management Information Systems Bachelor's B $56,099 $46,478–$61,303 7,889
35 Chemistry Master's C $55,108 $44,384–$72,231 2,413
36 Geography Master's C $54,713 $52,733–$63,005 1,193
37 Statistics Bachelor's B $53,897 $47,650–$61,516 5,318
38 Architecture Master's C $53,358 $49,136–$56,234 805
39 Mathematics Master's C $52,959 $44,021–$62,012 2,572
40 Information Technology Management Bachelor's B $51,035 $48,432–$60,192 11,636

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 (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.