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
161 Special Education Master's D $48,971 $44,021–$54,275 19,550
162 Hospitality Management Master's D $49,058 $45,383–$57,860 1,226
163 Education Master's C $50,465 $43,798–$55,693 14,021
164 Real Estate Bachelor's B $52,941 $40,626–$55,964 1,944
165 Nutrition Sciences Master's C $49,883 $36,141–$53,775 1,636
166 Finance Bachelor's B $52,643 $44,356–$55,348 47,431
167 Fire Protection Bachelor's A $69,691 $39,729–$73,446 1,502
168 Sustainability Studies Master's B $74,200 $42,682–$68,219 1,853
169 Information Technology Management Bachelor's B $57,318 $48,432–$60,192 11,636
170 Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Master's C $54,948 $44,384–$54,948 302
171 Public Administration Master's C $56,415 $43,857–$57,995 11,984
172 Science, Technology and Society Bachelor's C $37,363 $41,565–$64,913 644
173 Management Sciences Bachelor's B $61,630 $45,277–$62,848 11,863
174 Public Health Master's C $56,979 $47,595–$57,705 17,793
175 Educational Leadership Master's C $53,699 $46,478–$57,860 6,788
176 Environmental Engineering Bachelor's B $52,733 $50,558–$57,318 1,910
177 Mathematics Master's C $53,810 $44,021–$62,012 2,572
178 Architecture Master's C $52,877 $49,136–$56,234 805
179 Computer Networking Bachelor's B $53,718 $45,305–$56,544 1,048
180 Geological Master's C $52,107 $42,728–$64,990 1,612
181 Statistics Bachelor's B $54,435 $47,650–$61,516 5,318
182 International Relations Master's C $65,995 $47,963–$64,493 5,256
183 Clinical & Medical Laboratory Science & Research Master's D $42,682 $42,682–$55,512 563
184 Applied Mathematics Bachelor's B $55,151 $45,919–$65,387 4,620
185 Ecology, Evolution, Systematics Master's C $55,383 $44,170–$67,101 3,247
186 Geography Master's C $56,544 $52,733–$63,005 1,193
187 Human Resources Management and Services Master's C $57,318 $46,603–$69,338 8,292
188 Vehicle Maintenance Bachelor's A $64,087 $49,840–$55,964 179
189 Industrial Production Technology Bachelor's B $53,483 $47,064–$60,485 2,163
190 Chemistry Master's C $50,105 $44,384–$72,231 2,413
191 Communication Disorders Sciences Master's C $56,641 $51,607–$60,452 10,166
192 Geological & Geophysical Engineering Bachelor's B $55,770 $50,856–$55,964 138
193 Dental Support Services Bachelor's B $56,068 $48,849–$61,516 2,397
194 Management Information Systems Bachelor's B $58,985 $46,478–$61,303 7,889
195 Clinical & Medical Laboratory Science & Research Bachelor's B $56,415 $52,524–$62,154 4,022
196 Agricultural Engineering Bachelor's B $59,688 $51,690–$61,303 936
197 Engineering-Related Technology Bachelor's C $44,933 $43,240–$65,332 202
198 Computer Engineering Technology Bachelor's B $50,856 $41,565–$57,499 827
199 Information Science & Studies Bachelor's B $63,243 $47,440–$63,243 9,602
200 Computer and Information Sciences Bachelor's A $66,111 $50,439–$67,660 44,025

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?
Special Education (Master's) — $48,685 median earnings two years after finishing, across 673 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.