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
81 Industrial Engineering Bachelor's A $68,047 $63,005–$71,643 5,205
82 Electrical Engineering Bachelor's A $69,338 $66,461–$72,699 15,611
83 Management Information Systems Master's B $69,535 $66,885–$82,440 2,009
84 Business Master's B $70,876 $59,895–$84,653 9,081
85 Civil Engineering Master's B $71,015 $66,169–$74,200 4,960
86 Computer Engineering Bachelor's A $71,015 $63,749–$75,804 12,137
87 Finance Master's B $74,576 $64,196–$87,973 4,158
88 Chemical Engineering Master's B $76,460 $73,949–$83,546 1,687
89 Computer and Information Sciences Master's B $80,705 $71,015–$94,408 29,526
90 Statistics Master's B $81,263 $75,706–$87,604 3,703
91 Mechanical Engineering Master's B $81,702 $75,518–$86,129 7,395
92 Industrial Engineering Master's B $83,547 $70,009–$89,059 2,737
93 Information Technology Management Master's B $85,465 $75,518–$97,071 11,140
94 Engineering Master's A $88,982 $78,343–$90,412 3,783
95 Pharmacy Master's A $92,124 $76,460–$100,849 1,995
96 Electrical Engineering Master's A $92,632 $82,440–$97,959 9,188
97 Computer Engineering Master's A $94,408 $84,653–$104,192 5,898
98 Computer Science Master's A $94,408 $78,971–$106,421 22,158
99 Nursing Master's A $96,126 $90,678–$105,392 49,755
100 Allied Health Master's A $133,319 $89,841–$166,905 504

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?
Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's) — $68,047 median earnings two years after finishing, across 141 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 Highest paying majors Most popular 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.