Ranked

Most popular US degrees by number of graduates

Ranked by how many students complete them each year, with what those graduates go on to earn.

#MajorLevelGradeMedian earningsTypical rangeGraduates/yr
1 Business Administration Bachelor's C $41,937 $37,503–$47,260 160,246
2 Nursing Bachelor's A $62,616 $58,078–$69,419 152,735
3 Business Administration Master's C $64,706 $55,964–$78,719 119,231
4 Psychology Bachelor's F $29,141 $26,353–$31,616 117,175
5 Biology Bachelor's F $28,443 $25,194–$32,382 85,344
6 Teaching Bachelor's C $35,605 $32,485–$38,721 51,441
7 Nursing Master's A $96,126 $90,678–$105,392 49,755
8 Exercise Science Bachelor's D $29,685 $26,248–$33,281 48,104
9 Criminal Justice Bachelor's C $34,420 $31,205–$37,208 48,051
10 Finance Bachelor's B $49,864 $44,356–$55,348 47,431
11 Communications Bachelor's D $33,710 $29,685–$37,208 44,591
12 Marketing Bachelor's C $42,154 $37,896–$46,478 44,419
13 Computer and Information Sciences Bachelor's B $58,157 $50,439–$67,660 44,025
14 Computer Science Bachelor's A $66,073 $57,995–$74,576 43,677
15 Accounting Bachelor's B $47,260 $42,123–$53,629 42,077
16 Political Science Bachelor's C $33,993 $29,751–$37,896 41,107
17 Economics Bachelor's B $46,087 $41,087–$52,607 35,879
18 Social Work Master's D $44,960 $42,263–$48,432 34,645
19 Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's A $64,990 $61,218–$68,219 33,840
20 Computer and Information Sciences Master's B $80,705 $71,015–$94,408 29,526
21 Teaching Master's D $45,668 $41,789–$50,439 27,930
22 English Bachelor's F $28,598 $24,962–$32,382 27,287
23 Sociology Bachelor's D $31,443 $28,236–$34,847 25,941
24 Business Bachelor's C $42,154 $37,208–$48,225 25,323
25 History Bachelor's F $29,685 $25,856–$33,604 23,955
26 Fine Arts Bachelor's F $25,467 $22,192–$28,960 23,904
27 Computer Science Master's A $94,408 $78,971–$106,421 22,158
28 Social Work Bachelor's D $32,249 $29,250–$34,244 20,205
29 Special Education Master's C $48,685 $44,021–$54,275 19,550
30 Mathematics Bachelor's B $43,687 $38,289–$49,436 19,260
31 Health Services Bachelor's D $31,594 $28,598–$36,141 19,233
32 Natural Resources and Conservation Bachelor's D $31,364 $27,476–$36,221 17,590
33 Healthcare Administration Bachelor's C $39,009 $35,416–$44,783 16,905
34 Accounting Master's C $59,954 $57,318–$64,493 15,854
35 Healthcare Administration Master's C $62,818 $52,941–$71,015 15,738
36 Electrical Engineering Bachelor's A $69,338 $66,461–$72,699 15,611
37 Music Bachelor's F $25,658 $21,508–$32,391 15,225
38 Civil Engineering Bachelor's B $60,523 $57,318–$63,921 14,335
39 Chemistry Bachelor's C $38,289 $33,281–$41,937 13,229
40 Film and Photography Bachelor's F $25,194 $22,268–$27,482 12,629

Popular does not mean well paid

The most-awarded degrees in the US are not the best-paying ones. Business, psychology and nursing dominate on volume for reasons of interest, access and licensing rather than salary — check the earnings column beside each row.

Why volume matters anyway

A field with tens of thousands of graduates a year has a deep, competitive job market and plenty of programmes to choose between, which usually means more scholarship money in circulation and more places where you can study it affordably.

Questions

What is the most popular college major in the US?
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.
All degree grades Highest paying 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.