The Most Common Major With the Highest Earning Potential

As more Americans go to college and earn a diploma, it’s important to know which common majors offer the most earning potential.

Stacker, a data journalism website, looked at data analyzed by Learner from the Census Bureau via the University of Minnesota IPUMS to determine the most common college majors in the United States. It then looked at the median salary for those with a bachelor’s degree and those with a postgraduate degree (such as a master’s, professional and doctoral).

A business degree is the most common undergraduate major. As of 2022, around 8.5 million adults working full-time had a bachelor’s degree in a business-related field, according to data, and bout 2.9 million of these adults also earned a postgraduate degree in the field.

Here are the most common majors with the highest earning potential by bachelor’s degree only, ranked from lowest earning potential to highest, according to Stacker and Learner’s analyses.

10. Education

Bachelor’s degree only median salary: $50,000

9. Fine arts (tie)

Bachelor’s degree only median salary: $52,000

8. Psychology (tie)

Bachelor’s degree only median salary: $52,000

7. Communications

Bachelor’s degree only median salary: $57,000

6. Biology and life sciences

Bachelor’s degree only median salary: $62,000

5. Social sciences

Bachelor’s degree only median salary: $68,000

4. Medical and health sciences

Bachelor’s degree only median salary: $70,000

3. Business

Bachelor’s degree only median salary: $73,000

2. Computer/info sciences

Bachelor’s degree only median salary: $91,000

Origin Article: https://www.silive.com/education/2024/05/which-college-majors-have-the-highest-earning-potential.html