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
201 Quality Control Bachelor's A $66,969 $56,776–$60,213 1,482
202 International Business Master's B $74,576 $57,318–$79,450 1,476
203 Religion & Religious Studies Master's F $38,289 $38,289–$44,572 1,463
204 Environmental & Natural Resources Management Bachelor's D $31,640 $30,499–$39,741 1,427
205 Human Development, Family Studies Master's D $42,123 $38,289–$43,426 1,373
206 Electrical & Electronic Engineering Technology Bachelor's B $61,702 $53,358–$63,749 1,362
207 Sociology Master's D $41,565 $31,314–$41,565 1,358
208 Materials Engineering Bachelor's A $66,541 $62,012–$68,219 1,305
209 Hospitality Management Master's D $49,058 $45,383–$57,860 1,226
210 Health Services Master's D $48,432 $39,909–$55,964 1,209
211 Geography Master's C $56,544 $52,733–$63,005 1,193
212 Arts, Entertainment Master's D $41,565 $38,289–$46,924 1,178
213 Business Management Master's B $76,460 $46,478–$82,440 1,178
214 Linguistic, Comparative Master's C $52,107 $39,909–$52,941 1,168
215 Real Estate Master's A $98,847 $77,213–$105,245 1,130
216 Food Science and Technology Bachelor's C $42,682 $38,289–$49,175 1,110
217 Foods, Nutrition Master's C $52,107 $43,128–$52,107 1,093
218 Biotechnology Bachelor's C $35,416 $25,194–$41,193 1,089
219 Forestry Bachelor's C $38,289 $35,823–$40,768 1,076
220 Computer Networking Bachelor's B $53,718 $45,305–$56,544 1,048
221 Environmental & Natural Resources Management Master's D $47,260 $38,289–$51,273 1,046
222 Astronomy and Astrophysics Bachelor's D $32,925 $32,925–$36,848 1,035
223 Anthropology Master's F $38,289 $33,993–$42,682 1,028
224 Microbiology Master's F $41,087 $35,600–$49,323 998
225 Romance Languages Master's F $35,518 $35,518–$43,240 969
226 Taxation Master's B $77,039 $66,104–$79,389 968
227 Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology Master's F $38,289 $38,289–$53,108 953
228 Allied Health Bachelor's D $30,988 $32,162–$32,162 949
229 Agricultural Engineering Bachelor's B $59,688 $51,690–$61,303 936
230 International & Globalization Studies Master's C $55,964 $41,565–$47,260 934
231 Human Computer Interaction Bachelor's F $23,456 $36,848–$69,732 892
232 Advanced & Graduate Dentistry Master's A $192,188 $178,741–$198,793 839
233 Architectural Engineering Bachelor's A $66,240 $63,005–$67,324 834
234 Environmental Engineering Master's C $67,660 $59,169–$67,660 830
235 Computer Engineering Technology Bachelor's B $50,856 $41,565–$57,499 827
236 Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Bachelor's C $35,416 $30,771–$36,848 827
237 Architecture Master's C $52,877 $49,136–$56,234 805
238 Criminology Master's D $47,056 $36,668–$51,106 767
239 Genetics Bachelor's C $34,704 $29,593–$34,847 738
240 Bible & Biblical Studies Master's F $29,141 $29,141–$41,565 737

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?
Quality Control (Bachelor's) — $59,286 median earnings two years after finishing, across 31 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.