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
41 Healthcare Administration Bachelor's C $38,289 $35,416–$44,783 16,905
42 Teacher Education Master's C $50,231 $43,351–$53,810 16,391
43 Accounting Master's C $61,516 $57,318–$64,493 15,854
44 Healthcare Administration Master's C $62,012 $52,941–$71,015 15,738
45 Electrical Engineering Bachelor's A $70,456 $66,461–$72,699 15,611
46 Music Bachelor's F $25,194 $21,508–$32,391 15,225
47 Civil Engineering Bachelor's B $61,814 $57,318–$63,921 14,335
48 Education Master's C $50,465 $43,798–$55,693 14,021
49 Allied Health Diagnostic Master's A $104,192 $94,892–$106,978 13,938
50 Chemistry Bachelor's C $37,568 $33,281–$41,937 13,229
51 Student Counseling Master's D $44,327 $40,089–$48,041 12,984
52 Film and Photography Bachelor's F $25,580 $22,268–$27,482 12,629
53 Drama & Theatre Arts and Stagecraft Bachelor's F $23,067 $20,140–$25,194 12,377
54 Computer Engineering Bachelor's A $72,828 $63,749–$75,804 12,137
55 Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology Bachelor's D $31,848 $28,236–$36,674 12,089
56 Public Administration Master's C $56,415 $43,857–$57,995 11,984
57 Management Sciences Bachelor's B $61,630 $45,277–$62,848 11,863
58 Information Technology Management Bachelor's B $57,318 $48,432–$60,192 11,636
59 Neurobiology and Neurosciences Bachelor's F $29,685 $25,194–$32,925 11,367
60 Communication Disorders Sciences Bachelor's F $25,658 $22,710–$28,598 11,297
61 Information Technology Management Master's A $97,367 $75,518–$97,071 11,140
62 Broadcasting Bachelor's D $29,995 $26,353–$33,993 10,950
63 Human Development, Family Studies Bachelor's F $29,685 $27,552–$32,391 10,724
64 Human Resources Management and Services Bachelor's C $46,321 $40,461–$48,849 10,227
65 Communication Disorders Sciences Master's C $56,641 $51,607–$60,452 10,166
66 Journalism Bachelor's C $34,704 $29,183–$35,843 10,025
67 Theological and Ministerial Studies Master's D $44,576 $35,954–$48,823 9,676
68 Information Science & Studies Bachelor's B $63,243 $47,440–$63,243 9,602
69 Romance Languages Bachelor's D $32,382 $27,439–$36,488 9,490
70 Criminology Bachelor's D $33,926 $31,673–$37,478 9,264
71 Exercise Science Master's D $42,123 $37,856–$45,128 9,192
72 Electrical Engineering Master's A $96,775 $82,440–$97,959 9,188
73 Business Master's B $80,718 $59,895–$84,653 9,081
74 Legal Research Master's B $73,949 $51,607–$83,325 9,029
75 Chemical Engineering Bachelor's A $69,338 $60,714–$72,022 8,935
76 Special Education Bachelor's C $37,484 $34,450–$40,821 8,867
77 Biomedical Engineering Bachelor's B $60,771 $48,823–$66,611 8,820
78 Information Science & Studies Master's B $76,998 $64,358–$86,867 8,428
79 Anthropology Bachelor's F $25,967 $21,964–$28,816 8,349
80 Human Resources Management and Services Master's C $57,318 $46,603–$69,338 8,292

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?
Healthcare Administration (Bachelor's) — $39,009 median earnings two years after finishing, across 605 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.