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 $45,455 $37,503–$47,260 160,246
2 Business Administration Master's B $69,218 $55,964–$78,719 119,231
3 Psychology Bachelor's F $29,685 $26,353–$31,616 117,175
4 Biology Bachelor's F $27,947 $25,194–$32,382 85,344
5 Teaching Bachelor's C $35,711 $32,485–$38,721 51,441
6 Nursing Master's A $94,227 $90,678–$105,392 49,755
7 Exercise Science Bachelor's D $30,409 $26,248–$33,281 48,104
8 Criminal Justice Bachelor's C $35,274 $31,205–$37,208 48,051
9 Finance Bachelor's B $52,643 $44,356–$55,348 47,431
10 Communications Bachelor's C $35,535 $29,685–$37,208 44,591
11 Marketing Bachelor's C $44,888 $37,896–$46,478 44,419
12 Computer and Information Sciences Bachelor's A $66,111 $50,439–$67,660 44,025
13 Computer Science Bachelor's A $72,286 $57,995–$74,576 43,677
14 Accounting Bachelor's B $49,527 $42,123–$53,629 42,077
15 Management Sciences Master's A $94,075 $78,343–$99,662 41,145
16 Political Science Bachelor's C $35,213 $29,751–$37,896 41,107
17 Liberal Arts and Sciences Bachelor's D $32,467 $27,552–$35,060 37,719
18 Economics Bachelor's B $51,760 $41,087–$52,607 35,879
19 Social Work Master's D $46,118 $42,263–$48,432 34,645
20 Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's A $66,004 $61,218–$68,219 33,840
21 Computer and Information Sciences Master's A $107,758 $71,015–$94,408 29,526
22 Teaching Master's D $45,383 $41,789–$50,439 27,930
23 English Bachelor's F $29,503 $24,962–$32,382 27,287
24 Clinical, Counseling Master's D $44,468 $39,585–$49,832 26,377
25 Sociology Bachelor's D $32,569 $28,236–$34,847 25,941
26 Business Bachelor's C $46,738 $37,208–$48,225 25,323
27 History Bachelor's D $30,409 $25,856–$33,604 23,955
28 Fine Arts Bachelor's F $25,967 $22,192–$28,960 23,904
29 Computer Science Master's A $106,421 $78,971–$106,421 22,158
30 Social Work Bachelor's D $32,569 $29,250–$34,244 20,205
31 Design and Applied Arts Bachelor's C $35,630 $29,685–$39,369 19,612
32 Special Education Master's D $48,971 $44,021–$54,275 19,550
33 Mathematics Bachelor's B $47,260 $38,289–$49,436 19,260
34 Health Services Bachelor's D $31,818 $28,598–$36,141 19,233
35 Public Health Bachelor's C $33,993 $30,616–$37,208 19,105
36 Teacher Education Bachelor's C $37,208 $32,391–$39,909 18,893
37 Research and Experimental Psychology Bachelor's D $30,035 $25,658–$33,119 18,392
38 Public Health Master's C $56,979 $47,595–$57,705 17,793
39 Natural Resources and Conservation Bachelor's D $32,284 $27,476–$36,221 17,590
40 Mental and Social Health Services Master's F $41,539 $37,671–$45,383 17,126

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.