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
1 Advanced & Graduate Dentistry Master's A $192,188 $178,741–$198,793 839
2 Allied Health Master's A $165,486 $89,841–$166,905 504
3 Medical Clinical Sciences & Graduate Medical Studies Master's A $172,991 $112,815–$188,472 725
4 Allied Health Diagnostic Master's A $104,192 $94,892–$106,978 13,938
5 Systems Engineering Master's A $101,072 $95,295–$106,421 2,393
6 Nursing Master's A $94,227 $90,678–$105,392 49,755
7 Computer Science Master's A $106,421 $78,971–$106,421 22,158
8 Computer Engineering Master's A $109,095 $84,653–$104,192 5,898
9 Electrical Engineering Master's A $96,775 $82,440–$97,959 9,188
10 Pharmacy Master's A $92,124 $76,460–$100,849 1,995
11 Real Estate Master's A $98,847 $77,213–$105,245 1,130
12 Engineering Master's B $90,412 $78,343–$90,412 3,783
13 Aerospace Engineering Master's A $90,856 $81,702–$93,520 2,402
14 Management Sciences Master's A $94,075 $78,343–$99,662 41,145
15 Applied Mathematics Master's A $97,071 $70,456–$86,689 6,541
16 Information Technology Management Master's A $97,367 $75,518–$97,071 11,140
17 Industrial Engineering Master's B $87,604 $70,009–$89,059 2,737
18 Naval Architecture Bachelor's A $89,968 $70,456–$89,968 326
19 Mechanical Engineering Master's B $82,882 $75,518–$86,129 7,395
20 Statistics Master's A $103,078 $75,706–$87,604 3,703
21 Health Professions Education Master's B $80,862 $70,009–$91,744 3,831
22 Computer and Information Sciences Master's A $107,758 $71,015–$94,408 29,526
23 Chemical Engineering Master's B $77,401 $73,949–$83,546 1,687
24 Quality Control Master's B $68,880 $73,635–$79,473 717
25 Taxation Master's B $77,039 $66,104–$79,389 968
26 Biomedical Engineering Master's B $75,706 $63,005–$77,715 3,671
27 Petroleum Engineering Bachelor's A $77,213 $67,380–$80,022 627
28 Finance Master's B $82,993 $64,196–$87,973 4,158
29 Computer Software and Media Applications Master's B $78,971 $61,144–$86,550 3,929
30 Systems Engineering Bachelor's A $74,279 $61,020–$74,576 705
31 International Business Master's B $74,576 $57,318–$79,450 1,476
32 Medical Illustration and Informatics Master's B $73,321 $60,161–$84,653 2,128
33 Genetics Master's B $72,671 $69,338–$73,321 474
34 Information Science & Studies Master's B $76,998 $64,358–$86,867 8,428
35 Biomathematics Bachelor's A $71,015 $70,176–$71,015 697
36 Civil Engineering Master's B $71,823 $66,169–$74,200 4,960
37 Computer Engineering Bachelor's A $72,828 $63,749–$75,804 12,137
38 Mining and Mineral Engineering Bachelor's A $69,338 $69,338–$74,953 177
39 Business Master's B $80,718 $59,895–$84,653 9,081
40 Air Transportation Master's B $77,039 $61,064–$77,039 725

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?
Advanced & Graduate Dentistry (Master's) — $192,188 median earnings two years after finishing, across 65 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.