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
81 Social Sciences Bachelor's D $33,237 $29,565–$37,568 5,560
82 Dietetics and Nutrition Bachelor's D $32,925 $27,642–$36,134 2,467
83 Journalism Bachelor's D $32,429 $29,183–$35,843 10,025
84 Social Work Bachelor's D $32,249 $29,250–$34,244 20,205
85 Allied Health Bachelor's D $32,162 $32,162–$32,162 949
86 Film and Photography Master's F $31,670 $26,353–$35,823 1,871
87 Health Services Bachelor's D $31,594 $28,598–$36,141 19,233
88 Sociology Bachelor's D $31,443 $28,236–$34,847 25,941
89 Natural Resources and Conservation Bachelor's D $31,364 $27,476–$36,221 17,590
90 History Bachelor's F $29,685 $25,856–$33,604 23,955
91 Exercise Science Bachelor's D $29,685 $26,248–$33,281 48,104
92 Fine Arts Master's F $29,616 $23,456–$33,565 3,045
93 Psychology Bachelor's F $29,141 $26,353–$31,616 117,175
94 Music Master's F $29,051 $24,228–$33,993 6,242
95 English Bachelor's F $28,598 $24,962–$32,382 27,287
96 Philosophy Bachelor's F $28,598 $25,194–$33,281 7,542
97 Biology Bachelor's F $28,443 $25,194–$32,382 85,344
98 Music Bachelor's F $25,658 $21,508–$32,391 15,225
99 Fine Arts Bachelor's F $25,467 $22,192–$28,960 23,904
100 Film and Photography Bachelor's F $25,194 $22,268–$27,482 12,629

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?
Social Sciences (Bachelor's) — $33,237 median earnings two years after finishing, across 348 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.