Which major pays the most?

By median earnings four years after graduating, Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration tops this list at $116,539. But the median is only the middle: the middle half of those graduates earned between $78,609 and $139,974, and plenty of graduates from lower-ranked majors earn more than plenty of graduates from higher-ranked ones.

How much does the ranking actually mean?

Less than it looks. Every one of the 161 side-by-side pairs in this ranking overlaps in the middle 50%, so no major here is cleanly separated from the one next to it. A typical major's range overlaps with 146 of the other 161. The far ends are a real difference — Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration starts above where Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft tops out — but two rows near each other tell you almost nothing.

Where does this data come from?

The U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard, Field of Study data. These are the Department’s own national medians for graduates working and not enrolled in further study four years after completing a bachelor’s degree — not re-aggregated by us.

Does this cover every graduate?

No. College Scorecard earnings come from federal student aid records, so they only count graduates who received Title IV federal financial aid. In 2015–16, 54.5% of all U.S. undergraduates received federal aid — but that figure includes two-year colleges, which don’t grant bachelor’s degrees. At four-year colleges the rate was higher (59.8% public, 64.4% private, 77.7% for-profit), or roughly six in ten. The Department says data users “should not assume that Scorecard data values are representative of all students who graduated from a particular field of study.”

Why are only 162 majors listed?

The data covers more fields than this, but many have small graduating cohorts where a median moves on a handful of people. This list is limited to bachelor's fields with at least 1,000 graduates in the national earnings cohort, so every number here rests on a real sample.

WhatIfWorth

What every college major pays

The typical Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration graduate earns 2.9× what the typical Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft graduate earns. That gap is real. But every one of the 161 side-by-side pairs in this ranking overlaps — no major here is cleanly separated from the one ranked next to it.

A typical major's middle 50% overlaps with 146 of the other 161. Read the ranking as a rough ordering of medians, not as a ladder you climb by picking a row.

The far ends do separate: Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration starts (25th percentile $78,609) above where Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft tops out (75th percentile $55,399). The extremes are a real difference; the neighbours are not.

Who these numbers describe

These figures cover only graduates who received federal student aid — they come from federal aid records, not a survey of everyone. In 2015–16, 54.5% of all U.S. undergraduates received aid; at the four-year colleges that grant bachelor’s degrees the rate ran higher (59.8% public, 64.4% private, 77.7% for-profit), so roughly six in ten of these graduates are counted. They are not the medians of every graduate. And because the rate differs by school type while majors differ in their mix of schools, two majors are not measured on exactly the same slice.

"Working and not enrolled" narrows it further by excluding graduates still in school, so majors that commonly lead to graduate degrees (biology, psychology) show only the graduates who went straight to work.

The cohort is 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, with earnings measured in 2022 and 2023 and reported in 2024 dollars. It is a snapshot of those years, not today’s pay.

All 162 majors, ranked by median pay

QTY 162

Each bar spans the middle 50% of that major's graduates — 25th to 75th percentile — on one shared scale from $20,518 to $152,038. The notch marks the median.

162 U.S. bachelor's majors ranked by median earnings four years after graduating, with the 25th–75th percentile range for each.
#	Major	Median	Middle 50%	Grads	Compare
1	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration overlaps with 84 of 161	$116,539	$78,609 – $139,974	2,140	compare →
2	Computer Engineering overlaps with 68 of 161	$109,015	$86,299 – $145,170	10,329	compare →
3	Computer Science overlaps with 95 of 161	$107,009	$74,830 – $152,038	28,067	compare →
4	Petroleum Engineering overlaps with 80 of 161	$104,823	$80,747 – $146,680	1,427	compare →
5	Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering overlaps with 70 of 161	$100,647	$84,635 – $122,440	16,532	compare →
6	Industrial Engineering overlaps with 80 of 161	$98,442	$81,158 – $121,691	4,636	compare →
7	Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering overlaps with 80 of 161	$98,207	$81,638 – $115,917	3,795	compare →
8	Chemical Engineering overlaps with 81 of 161	$98,158	$80,300 – $117,974	10,079	compare →
9	Construction Management overlaps with 89 of 161	$95,124	$77,072 – $115,179	3,051	compare →
10	Construction Engineering Technology/Technician overlaps with 89 of 161	$93,843	$77,403 – $111,740	2,681	compare →
11	Biomedical/Medical Engineering overlaps with 99 of 161	$93,451	$74,134 – $113,859	5,726	compare →
12	Statistics overlaps with 134 of 161	$92,425	$64,564 – $125,467	2,476	compare →
13	Computer and Information Sciences, General overlaps with 137 of 161	$92,374	$64,179 – $128,180	41,037	compare →
14	Mechanical Engineering overlaps with 87 of 161	$92,135	$77,715 – $109,121	36,057	compare →
15	Applied Mathematics overlaps with 142 of 161	$91,532	$63,368 – $127,252	2,680	compare →
16	Materials Engineering overlaps with 90 of 161	$91,449	$76,710 – $109,151	1,151	compare →
17	Engineering-Related Fields overlaps with 113 of 161	$89,619	$71,039 – $110,158	1,839	compare →
18	Engineering, General overlaps with 103 of 161	$89,359	$73,449 – $108,835	3,262	compare →
19	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing overlaps with 124 of 161	$88,910	$67,853 – $114,470	177,924	compare →
20	Insurance overlaps with 132 of 161	$88,472	$65,734 – $112,764	1,405	compare →
21	Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians overlaps with 131 of 161	$86,525	$66,477 – $106,896	1,958	compare →
22	Civil Engineering overlaps with 101 of 161	$86,517	$73,883 – $101,174	15,798	compare →
23	Fire Protection overlaps with 145 of 161	$86,436	$62,692 – $114,175	1,163	compare →
24	Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods overlaps with 148 of 161	$86,176	$61,755 – $114,719	7,976	compare →
25	Air Transportation overlaps with 148 of 161	$85,825	$61,701 – $118,209	4,646	compare →
26	Information Science/Studies overlaps with 153 of 161	$85,294	$59,774 – $116,854	10,230	compare →
27	Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management overlaps with 153 of 161	$85,063	$59,326 – $117,649	6,503	compare →
28	Real Estate overlaps with 160 of 161	$84,821	$55,645 – $120,670	1,155	compare →
29	Agricultural Engineering overlaps with 124 of 161	$84,624	$67,932 – $103,936	1,167	compare →
30	Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians overlaps with 141 of 161	$84,599	$63,578 – $107,415	2,036	compare →
31	Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians overlaps with 156 of 161	$83,742	$58,477 – $110,912	1,134	compare →
32	Computer Programming overlaps with 161 of 161	$83,439	$54,167 – $114,436	1,646	compare →
33	Finance and Financial Management Services overlaps with 150 of 161	$83,343	$60,801 – $111,527	43,799	compare →
34	Management Information Systems and Services overlaps with 154 of 161	$83,290	$58,799 – $111,586	10,427	compare →
35	Economics overlaps with 156 of 161	$82,686	$58,184 – $116,323	28,744	compare →
36	Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians overlaps with 130 of 161	$82,073	$66,779 – $98,563	3,299	compare →
37	Cognitive Science overlaps with 161 of 161	$81,496	$53,334 – $130,402	1,411	compare →
38	Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering overlaps with 121 of 161	$81,171	$68,911 – $95,232	1,579	compare →
39	Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians overlaps with 150 of 161	$80,890	$61,191 – $99,266	3,050	compare →
40	Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General overlaps with 147 of 161	$80,526	$62,398 – $99,228	2,057	compare →
41	Computer Systems Analysis overlaps with 159 of 161	$78,929	$56,636 – $110,159	1,461	compare →
42	Business/Managerial Economics overlaps with 161 of 161	$77,981	$55,058 – $106,683	5,426	compare →
43	Physics overlaps with 161 of 161	$76,786	$51,777 – $102,948	5,602	compare →
44	Accounting and Related Services overlaps with 159 of 161	$76,194	$56,205 – $97,191	63,013	compare →
45	Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions overlaps with 150 of 161	$75,975	$60,921 – $92,270	4,657	compare →
46	General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations overlaps with 161 of 161	$75,399	$51,403 – $102,168	2,461	compare →
47	Public Policy Analysis overlaps with 161 of 161	$73,721	$53,280 – $104,068	1,612	compare →
48	Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications overlaps with 161 of 161	$73,587	$51,216 – $102,147	1,839	compare →
49	International Business overlaps with 161 of 161	$73,201	$51,264 – $98,832	5,548	compare →
50	Food Science and Technology overlaps with 161 of 161	$70,873	$54,113 – $88,238	1,301	compare →
51	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions overlaps with 161 of 161	$70,786	$50,919 – $95,942	14,015	compare →
52	Homeland Security overlaps with 161 of 161	$70,193	$51,236 – $95,443	2,216	compare →
53	Architectural Sciences and Technology overlaps with 160 of 161	$70,074	$55,479 – $86,857	1,232	compare →
54	Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other overlaps with 161 of 161	$69,830	$47,685 – $96,231	3,487	compare →
55	Mathematics overlaps with 161 of 161	$69,562	$49,058 – $97,414	15,976	compare →
56	Marketing overlaps with 161 of 161	$69,303	$49,728 – $93,152	48,162	compare →
57	Business/Commerce, General overlaps with 161 of 161	$68,407	$48,204 – $94,571	27,865	compare →
58	Business Administration, Management and Operations overlaps with 161 of 161	$68,257	$47,618 – $93,584	183,303	compare →
59	Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other overlaps with 161 of 161	$68,245	$47,984 – $89,146	4,842	compare →
60	Human Resources Management and Services overlaps with 161 of 161	$68,069	$50,156 – $90,619	13,480	compare →
61	Dental Support Services and Allied Professions overlaps with 159 of 161	$68,061	$51,213 – $83,379	3,416	compare →
62	Architecture overlaps with 155 of 161	$66,914	$54,236 – $78,634	4,504	compare →
63	Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences overlaps with 161 of 161	$66,697	$44,784 – $93,441	1,769	compare →
64	Agricultural Business and Management overlaps with 161 of 161	$66,647	$48,591 – $90,381	5,347	compare →
65	International Relations and National Security Studies overlaps with 161 of 161	$66,596	$46,031 – $87,798	8,070	compare →
66	Business/Corporate Communications overlaps with 160 of 161	$65,784	$46,837 – $84,989	1,182	compare →
67	Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other overlaps with 161 of 161	$65,681	$42,778 – $90,944	1,154	compare →
68	Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology overlaps with 161 of 161	$65,466	$44,889 – $88,432	6,319	compare →
69	Chemistry overlaps with 159 of 161	$65,120	$48,307 – $84,018	10,453	compare →
70	Public Administration overlaps with 161 of 161	$65,093	$47,237 – $86,663	3,271	compare →
71	Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication overlaps with 159 of 161	$63,560	$45,857 – $83,689	17,967	compare →
72	Political Science and Government overlaps with 160 of 161	$63,293	$44,760 – $85,406	36,628	compare →
73	Microbiological Sciences and Immunology overlaps with 159 of 161	$62,582	$44,047 – $83,205	2,108	compare →
74	Neurobiology and Neurosciences overlaps with 161 of 161	$62,451	$40,736 – $88,598	3,745	compare →
75	Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences overlaps with 159 of 161	$62,172	$41,546 – $83,514	4,191	compare →
76	Non-Professional Legal Studies overlaps with 159 of 161	$61,959	$42,689 – $82,578	2,380	compare →
77	Health/Medical Preparatory Programs overlaps with 159 of 161	$61,911	$42,679 – $83,434	3,000	compare →
78	Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General overlaps with 159 of 161	$61,296	$42,849 – $82,291	14,079	compare →
79	Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations overlaps with 161 of 161	$61,027	$38,487 – $88,452	3,469	compare →
80	Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences overlaps with 153 of 161	$60,190	$44,343 – $77,573	6,193	compare →
81	Nutrition Sciences overlaps with 151 of 161	$60,053	$43,153 – $76,798	2,790	compare →
82	International/Globalization Studies overlaps with 159 of 161	$59,972	$40,760 – $82,911	5,436	compare →
83	Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations overlaps with 154 of 161	$59,631	$42,122 – $77,961	4,289	compare →
84	Communication Disorders Sciences and Services overlaps with 146 of 161	$58,928	$44,993 – $73,005	11,257	compare →
85	Computer Software and Media Applications overlaps with 161 of 161	$58,894	$35,549 – $88,211	3,796	compare →
86	Biological and Physical Sciences overlaps with 159 of 161	$58,891	$40,986 – $81,781	1,851	compare →
87	Public Health overlaps with 155 of 161	$58,808	$41,981 – $79,154	15,585	compare →
88	Forestry overlaps with 146 of 161	$58,784	$44,916 – $73,142	1,389	compare →
89	Health and Medical Administrative Services overlaps with 156 of 161	$58,716	$41,903 – $80,437	21,334	compare →
90	Geography and Cartography overlaps with 150 of 161	$57,853	$42,482 – $75,644	4,640	compare →
91	Security Science and Technology overlaps with 150 of 161	$57,805	$41,536 – $76,538	2,783	compare →
92	Apparel and Textiles overlaps with 150 of 161	$57,640	$40,599 – $75,931	3,190	compare →
93	Biology, General overlaps with 155 of 161	$57,214	$38,929 – $79,199	57,101	compare →
94	Social Sciences, Other overlaps with 153 of 161	$56,812	$39,742 – $77,687	1,992	compare →
95	Hospitality Administration/Management overlaps with 147 of 161	$56,726	$40,953 – $73,841	11,706	compare →
96	Area Studies overlaps with 154 of 161	$56,625	$37,190 – $78,481	3,737	compare →
97	Plant Sciences overlaps with 148 of 161	$56,567	$41,837 – $73,901	2,130	compare →
98	Communication and Media Studies overlaps with 150 of 161	$56,359	$39,575 – $76,115	61,357	compare →
99	Journalism overlaps with 148 of 161	$56,278	$40,588 – $73,923	13,928	compare →
100	Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy overlaps with 149 of 161	$56,185	$41,328 – $74,677	1,553	compare →
101	Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions overlaps with 147 of 161	$55,792	$40,044 – $73,848	5,008	compare →
102	Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services overlaps with 144 of 161	$55,753	$40,535 – $68,442	3,542	compare →
103	Research and Experimental Psychology overlaps with 150 of 161	$55,695	$38,073 – $76,465	7,947	compare →
104	Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other overlaps with 146 of 161	$55,693	$40,311 – $72,165	27,598	compare →
105	Criminology overlaps with 146 of 161	$55,556	$41,042 – $73,111	9,717	compare →
106	Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other overlaps with 149 of 161	$55,384	$39,832 – $74,512	1,349	compare →
107	Criminal Justice and Corrections overlaps with 149 of 161	$55,378	$40,158 – $74,359	65,120	compare →
108	Natural Resources Conservation and Research overlaps with 146 of 161	$55,012	$39,435 – $72,794	15,907	compare →
109	Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics overlaps with 146 of 161	$55,000	$38,411 – $73,324	10,363	compare →
110	Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services overlaps with 145 of 161	$54,945	$39,143 – $70,678	3,824	compare →
111	Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness overlaps with 146 of 161	$54,562	$39,049 – $73,020	48,463	compare →
112	Philosophy overlaps with 154 of 161	$54,455	$34,926 – $78,043	6,085	compare →
113	Agriculture, General overlaps with 145 of 161	$53,676	$39,047 – $70,551	2,405	compare →
114	Social Sciences, General overlaps with 146 of 161	$53,366	$36,590 – $72,257	6,624	compare →
115	Legal Support Services overlaps with 145 of 161	$53,266	$38,839 – $69,667	1,468	compare →
116	Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies overlaps with 146 of 161	$53,262	$39,377 – $72,720	1,558	compare →
117	Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities overlaps with 146 of 161	$53,072	$35,750 – $73,322	50,554	compare →
118	Sociology overlaps with 145 of 161	$52,657	$37,665 – $69,502	31,848	compare →
119	Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions overlaps with 144 of 161	$52,119	$38,401 – $68,626	3,382	compare →
120	Community Organization and Advocacy overlaps with 142 of 161	$51,936	$37,324 – $67,543	2,308	compare →
121	Social Work overlaps with 137 of 161	$51,790	$39,212 – $64,160	28,986	compare →
122	Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies overlaps with 144 of 161	$51,710	$34,946 – $68,128	5,420	compare →
123	East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics overlaps with 149 of 161	$51,642	$32,068 – $74,398	1,249	compare →
124	Design and Applied Arts overlaps with 145 of 161	$51,490	$33,006 – $70,612	23,871	compare →
125	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas overlaps with 135 of 161	$51,389	$40,539 – $63,098	22,867	compare →
126	Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies overlaps with 142 of 161	$50,983	$37,138 – $67,192	3,198	compare →
127	Psychology, General overlaps with 142 of 161	$50,706	$35,740 – $67,229	102,536	compare →
128	History overlaps with 141 of 161	$50,680	$36,330 – $66,736	23,671	compare →
129	Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General overlaps with 145 of 161	$50,532	$33,727 – $70,500	5,152	compare →
130	Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology overlaps with 142 of 161	$50,523	$35,237 – $66,891	3,881	compare →
131	Special Education and Teaching overlaps with 128 of 161	$50,499	$41,442 – $60,070	9,845	compare →
132	Radio, Television, and Digital Communication overlaps with 145 of 161	$50,497	$33,717 – $70,128	11,821	compare →
133	Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management overlaps with 138 of 161	$50,468	$37,507 – $64,333	3,837	compare →
134	Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services overlaps with 145 of 161	$49,984	$32,888 – $69,881	4,565	compare →
135	Education, General overlaps with 128 of 161	$49,808	$38,641 – $60,792	6,941	compare →
136	Animal Sciences overlaps with 142 of 161	$49,634	$36,349 – $66,880	6,104	compare →
137	Education, Other overlaps with 137 of 161	$49,113	$35,735 – $63,919	1,907	compare →
138	Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology overlaps with 138 of 161	$48,842	$36,007 – $64,274	3,201	compare →
139	Behavioral Sciences overlaps with 140 of 161	$48,673	$32,105 – $65,920	3,138	compare →
140	Human Services, General overlaps with 134 of 161	$48,597	$35,249 – $62,659	7,618	compare →
141	English Language and Literature, General overlaps with 137 of 161	$48,590	$33,654 – $63,810	33,025	compare →
142	Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services overlaps with 135 of 161	$48,568	$35,149 – $62,704	15,127	compare →
143	Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies overlaps with 142 of 161	$48,471	$32,167 – $67,306	8,509	compare →
144	Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General overlaps with 135 of 161	$48,460	$34,712 – $63,003	3,828	compare →
145	Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management overlaps with 139 of 161	$48,240	$31,627 – $64,853	3,476	compare →
146	Culinary Arts and Related Services overlaps with 131 of 161	$47,668	$32,862 – $61,660	1,222	compare →
147	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods overlaps with 121 of 161	$47,382	$38,431 – $56,096	50,018	compare →
148	Anthropology overlaps with 137 of 161	$46,676	$32,056 – $63,905	8,303	compare →
149	Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management overlaps with 126 of 161	$45,338	$34,233 – $59,315	1,774	compare →
150	Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians overlaps with 131 of 161	$44,889	$26,703 – $61,587	1,947	compare →
151	Theological and Ministerial Studies overlaps with 134 of 161	$44,535	$30,931 – $62,472	1,751	compare →
152	Bible/Biblical Studies overlaps with 133 of 161	$44,533	$29,498 – $62,259	2,600	compare →
153	Zoology/Animal Biology overlaps with 125 of 161	$44,055	$32,942 – $58,785	2,187	compare →
154	Film/Video and Photographic Arts overlaps with 136 of 161	$43,765	$25,957 – $63,381	12,193	compare →
155	Graphic Communications overlaps with 138 of 161	$43,283	$27,166 – $64,326	3,496	compare →
156	Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries overlaps with 123 of 161	$42,915	$29,185 – $58,127	1,594	compare →
157	Music overlaps with 125 of 161	$42,892	$26,048 – $58,755	14,715	compare →
158	Visual and Performing Arts, General overlaps with 128 of 161	$41,688	$25,771 – $59,858	3,499	compare →
159	Religion/Religious Studies overlaps with 139 of 161	$41,390	$20,518 – $65,165	5,310	compare →
160	Fine and Studio Arts overlaps with 123 of 161	$41,367	$26,241 – $56,653	26,935	compare →
161	Dance overlaps with 123 of 161	$39,980	$24,910 – $57,333	2,823	compare →
162	Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft overlaps with 119 of 161	$39,775	$25,491 – $55,399	14,066	compare →

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard — national median earnings of federally aided graduates working and not enrolled 4 years after completing a bachelor’s degree.

How to read this

The ranking is by median: the middle graduate of each field. Half earned more, half earned less. What the median can't tell you is how wide the field is — and these fields are wide. That's what the bars are for.

Read them and the picture changes. Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration sits at the top and Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft at the bottom, nearly 2.9× apart, and those two really don't overlap. But scan the middle of the list and the bars all sit on top of each other. That's not noise in the data — it's the finding. Within any two neighbouring rows, which major you picked is a weaker signal than where you work, what you do there, and the decade you graduated into.

So the useful question isn't "which row am I on?" It's "how far apart are the two majors I'm actually choosing between, and do their ranges overlap?" That's what the comparison tool answers — pick any two rows and it shows the gap and the overlap side by side.

Frequently asked questions

Which major pays the most?: By median earnings four years after graduating, Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration tops this list at $116,539. But the median is only the middle: the middle half of those graduates earned between $78,609 and $139,974, and plenty of graduates from lower-ranked majors earn more than plenty of graduates from higher-ranked ones.
How much does the ranking actually mean?: Less than it looks. Every one of the 161 side-by-side pairs in this ranking overlaps in the middle 50%, so no major here is cleanly separated from the one next to it. A typical major's range overlaps with 146 of the other 161. The far ends are a real difference — Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration starts above where Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft tops out — but two rows near each other tell you almost nothing.
Where does this data come from?: The U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard, Field of Study data. These are the Department’s own national medians for graduates working and not enrolled in further study four years after completing a bachelor’s degree — not re-aggregated by us.
Does this cover every graduate?: No. College Scorecard earnings come from federal student aid records, so they only count graduates who received Title IV federal financial aid. In 2015–16, 54.5% of all U.S. undergraduates received federal aid — but that figure includes two-year colleges, which don’t grant bachelor’s degrees. At four-year colleges the rate was higher (59.8% public, 64.4% private, 77.7% for-profit), or roughly six in ten. The Department says data users “should not assume that Scorecard data values are representative of all students who graduated from a particular field of study.”
Why are only 162 majors listed?: The data covers more fields than this, but many have small graduating cohorts where a median moves on a handful of people. This list is limited to bachelor's fields with at least 1,000 graduates in the national earnings cohort, so every number here rests on a real sample.