Ranked

US majors with the lowest graduate earnings

The other end of the same federal data. A low figure is not a verdict on the subject — it is the salary reality to plan your borrowing around.

#MajorLevelGradeMedian earningsTypical rangeGraduates/yr
41 Business Administration Bachelor's C $41,937 $37,503–$47,260 160,246
42 Business Bachelor's C $42,154 $37,208–$48,225 25,323
43 Marketing Bachelor's C $42,154 $37,896–$46,478 44,419
44 Psychology Master's D $42,682 $38,289–$48,265 6,941
45 Mathematics Bachelor's B $43,687 $38,289–$49,436 19,260
46 Social Work Master's D $44,960 $42,263–$48,432 34,645
47 Teaching Master's D $45,668 $41,789–$50,439 27,930
48 Communications Master's D $45,715 $40,728–$53,775 4,685
49 Criminal Justice Master's D $45,715 $39,009–$52,289 6,816
50 Architecture Bachelor's B $46,087 $39,369–$50,141 3,714
51 Economics Bachelor's B $46,087 $41,087–$52,607 35,879
52 Political Science Master's D $46,283 $37,208–$50,856 2,000
53 Health Services Master's D $46,966 $39,909–$55,964 1,209
54 Accounting Bachelor's B $47,260 $42,123–$53,629 42,077
55 Dietetics and Nutrition Master's C $47,846 $46,087–$50,105 1,804
56 Microbiology Master's C $48,432 $35,600–$49,323 998
57 Natural Resources and Conservation Master's C $48,432 $41,205–$54,528 3,728
58 Special Education Master's C $48,685 $44,021–$54,275 19,550
59 Hospitality Management Master's C $49,058 $45,383–$57,860 1,226
60 Finance Bachelor's B $49,864 $44,356–$55,348 47,431
61 Information Technology Management Bachelor's B $51,035 $48,432–$60,192 11,636
62 Mathematics Master's C $52,959 $44,021–$62,012 2,572
63 Architecture Master's C $53,358 $49,136–$56,234 805
64 Statistics Bachelor's B $53,897 $47,650–$61,516 5,318
65 Geography Master's C $54,713 $52,733–$63,005 1,193
66 Chemistry Master's C $55,108 $44,384–$72,231 2,413
67 Management Information Systems Bachelor's B $56,099 $46,478–$61,303 7,889
68 Computer and Information Sciences Bachelor's B $58,157 $50,439–$67,660 44,025
69 Marketing Master's C $58,693 $46,087–$76,460 3,059
70 Accounting Master's C $59,954 $57,318–$64,493 15,854
71 Civil Engineering Bachelor's B $60,523 $57,318–$63,921 14,335
72 Engineering Bachelor's A $61,516 $57,318–$65,573 2,693
73 Nursing Bachelor's A $62,616 $58,078–$69,419 152,735
74 Healthcare Administration Master's C $62,818 $52,941–$71,015 15,738
75 Economics Master's C $64,290 $57,318–$70,596 5,317
76 Business Administration Master's C $64,706 $55,964–$78,719 119,231
77 Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's A $64,990 $61,218–$68,219 33,840
78 Computer Science Bachelor's A $66,073 $57,995–$74,576 43,677
79 Physics Master's C $66,207 $53,984–$71,575 2,152
80 Chemical Engineering Bachelor's A $67,073 $60,714–$72,022 8,935

A low figure is a planning input, not a verdict

Nothing here says these subjects are not worth studying. It says that if you borrow heavily for one of them, the repayment will take a larger share of your pay for longer — so the price of the institution matters more, and scholarships matter more.

Two years out is early for some fields

Subjects that lead into further study or long qualification routes — psychology, biology, fine art, humanities heading to teaching or law — look weakest at this measuring point and often improve substantially later. The data cannot see that; you can.

Questions

Which college majors earn the least?
Business Administration (Bachelor's) — $41,937 median earnings two years after finishing, across 1,597 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.

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.