Which college majors pay the most?

Of the 20 most common bachelor's degree majors, computer science paid the most four years after graduating: a median of $107,009 a year, more than twice the $47,382 of teacher education. These earnings cover only graduates who received federal student aid (grants or loans) and were working and not in school. They describe students who graduated in 2017–18 or 2018–19, with earnings in 2022 and 2023, shown in 2024 dollars.

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Key facts

Measure: Median earnings four years after graduating, dollars a year. Written from the data below.

  • Computer science has the highest figure, $107,009, followed by Computer and information sciences ($92,374) and Mechanical engineering ($92,135).
  • Teacher education has the lowest figure, $47,382, followed by English ($48,590) and Psychology ($50,706).
  • The highest is 2.3 times the lowest.

Source and date

Source
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard
License
Public domain (U.S. government work)
Data as of
Published

Citation

Chartly. “Which college majors pay the most?” Chart. Data: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/ (data as of December 31, 2023). https://chart.ly/charts/earnings-by-college-major (accessed October 15, 2026).

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The data

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Major (bachelor's degree) Median earnings four years after graduating, dollars a year
Computer science 107,009
Computer and information sciences 92,374
Mechanical engineering 92,135
Nursing 88,910
Finance 83,343
Economics 82,686
Accounting 76,194
Marketing 69,303
Business administration and management 68,257
Political science 63,293
Biology 57,214
Communication and media studies 56,359
Criminal justice 55,378
Kinesiology and physical education 54,562
Liberal arts and general studies 53,072
Sociology 52,657
Social work 51,790
Psychology 50,706
English 48,590
Teacher education 47,382

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