OBSERVED EARNINGS · LIKE-FOR-LIKE CATEGORIES

Highest-paying majors

National median earnings four years after completion, keeping field and credential level visible.

Field familyAll fields STEM & Computing Health & Clinical Business & Management Social & Behavioral Sciences Education Arts, Media & Humanities Law & Public Service Trades & Applied Fields

Degree levelAll credentials Associate Bachelor’s Master’s Doctorate

Social & Behavioral Sciences44 ranked field-and-credential categories with at least 10 earnings observations

1EconomicsMaster's Degree · 22 programs$104,085 2Clinical, Counseling and Applied PsychologyDoctoral Degree · 97 programs$100,222 3Psychology, GeneralDoctoral Degree · 39 programs$96,534 4International Relations and National Security StudiesMaster's Degree · 40 programs$91,052 5Geography and CartographyMaster's Degree · 17 programs$87,165 6EconomicsBachelor's Degree · 390 programs$79,468 7Area StudiesMaster's Degree · 10 programs$77,981 8Clinical, Counseling and Applied PsychologyGraduate/Professional Certificate · 26 programs$75,818 9Political Science and GovernmentMaster's Degree · 16 programs$75,523 10Psychology, OtherMaster's Degree · 14 programs$67,985 11Psychology, GeneralMaster's Degree · 92 programs$67,973 12CriminologyMaster's Degree · 15 programs$67,163 13International Relations and National Security StudiesBachelor's Degree · 128 programs$66,308 14Foods, Nutrition, and Related ServicesMaster's Degree · 26 programs$65,918 15Clinical, Counseling and Applied PsychologyMaster's Degree · 335 programs$65,278 16Research and Experimental PsychologyMaster's Degree · 13 programs$62,661 17Political Science and GovernmentBachelor's Degree · 609 programs$61,929 18Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, GeneralMaster's Degree · 10 programs$60,766 19Urban Studies/AffairsBachelor's Degree · 31 programs$59,596 20Geography and CartographyUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · 17 programs$59,554 21Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesMaster's Degree · 27 programs$59,496 22Apparel and TextilesBachelor's Degree · 60 programs$58,046 23Geography and CartographyBachelor's Degree · 130 programs$57,751 24Area StudiesBachelor's Degree · 84 programs$57,208 25Research and Experimental PsychologyBachelor's Degree · 111 programs$56,830 26Foods, Nutrition, and Related ServicesBachelor's Degree · 51 programs$55,659 27CriminologyBachelor's Degree · 126 programs$55,621 28Social Sciences, OtherBachelor's Degree · 40 programs$54,888 29Family and Consumer Economics and Related StudiesBachelor's Degree · 19 programs$53,055 30Housing and Human EnvironmentsBachelor's Degree · 12 programs$52,861

Field families are reproducible groupings of federal two-digit CIP subject codes. Rankings require at least 10 programs with reported year-4 earnings; missing or suppressed values are not replaced with zero.