In 2024, the average annual income of a college graduate with a Bachelor's degree in the United States was ****** U.S. dollars. This is a decrease from the previous year, when the median income for college grads was around ****** U.S. dollars.

Average earnings, by age group and highest level of education, from the 2016 Census of Population.

University graduates in England had an average annual salary of 42,000 British pounds a year in 2024, 11,500 pounds higher than the average salary for non-graduates. People with postgraduate degrees earned an even higher average salary at 47,000 pounds, a difference of 5,000 pounds when compared with undergraduate degrees.

Characteristics and median employment income of postsecondary graduates five years after graduation, by educational qualification (Classification of programs and credentials - professional degree variant), field of study (Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Canada 2016 - STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics and computer sciences) and BHASE (business, humanities, health, arts, social science and education) groupings), gender, age group and status of student in Canada (cross-sectional analysis).

The age groups available in the dataset are: 15+, 25+, 25-34, 25-54 and 25-64.

Type of work includes full-time and part-time.

The educational levels include: 0-8 yrs., some high school, high school graduate, some post-secondary, post-secondary certificate diploma and university degree.

Wages include average weekly wage rate.

The immigration statuses include: total landed immigrants (very recent immigrants, recent immigrants, established immigrants), non-landed immigrants and born in Canada.

U.S. citizens with a professional degree had the highest median household income in 2023, at 172,100 U.S. dollars. In comparison, those with less than a 9th grade education made significantly less money, at 35,690 U.S. dollars. Household income The median household income in the United States has fluctuated since 1990, but rose to around 70,000 U.S. dollars in 2021. Maryland had the highest median household income in the United States in 2021. Maryland’s high levels of wealth is due to several reasons, and includes the state's proximity to the nation's capital. Household income and ethnicity The median income of white non-Hispanic households in the United States had been on the rise since 1990, but declining since 2019. While income has also been on the rise, the median income of Hispanic households was much lower than those of white, non-Hispanic private households. However, the median income of Black households is even lower than Hispanic households. Income inequality is a problem without an easy solution in the United States, especially since ethnicity is a contributing factor. Systemic racism contributes to the non-White population suffering from income inequality, which causes the opportunity for growth to stagnate.

In 2023, the mean income of women with a doctorate degree in the United States stood at 139,100 U.S. dollars. For men with the same degree, mean earnings stood at 175,500 U.S. dollars. On average in 2023, American men earned 91,590 U.S. dollars, while American women earned 65,987 U.S. dollars.

In the United States, women holding a bachelor's degree earned, on average, 1,352 U.S. dollars per week in the second quarter of 2024. This can be compared with male bachelor's degree holders who on average earn 1,757 U.S dollars.

The Recent College Graduates (RCG) survey estimates the potential supply of newly qualified teachers in the United States and explores the immediate post-degree employment and education experiences of individuals obtaining bachelor's or master's degrees from American colleges and universities. The RCG survey, which focuses heavily, but not exclusively, on those graduates qualified to teach at the elementary and secondary levels, is designed to meet the following objectives: (1) to determine how many graduates become eligible or qualified to teach for the first time and how many are employed as teachers in the year following graduation, by teaching field, (2) to examine the relationship between courses taken, student achievement, and occupational outcomes, and (3) to monitor unemployment rates and average salaries of graduates by field of study. The RCG survey collects information on education and employment of all graduates (date of graduation, field of study, whether newly qualified to teach, further enrollment, financial aid, employment status, and teacher employment characteristics), as well as standard demographic characteristics such as earnings, age, marital status, sex, and race/ethnicity.

See notice below about this dataset

This dataset provides the average annual earnings by industry per district.

Wage records are obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) using a secure, anonymized matching process with limitations. For details on the process and suppression rules, please visit the Employment and Earnings of High School Graduates dashboard.

This dataset is one of three containing the same data that is also published in the Employment and Earnings of High School Graduates dashboard: Average Earnings by Student Group Average Earnings by Industry College and Career Outcomes

List of Industries

• 00 - All Students
• 11 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
• 21 - Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
• 22 - Utilities
• 23 - Construction
• 31 - Manufacturing
• 42 - Wholesale Trade
• 44 - Retail Trade
• 48 - Transportation and Warehousing
• 51 - Information
• 52 - Finance and Insurance
• 53 - Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
• 54 - Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• 55 - Management of Companies and Enterprises
• 56 - Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
• 61 - Educational Services
• 62 - Health Care and Social Assistance
• 71 - Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
• 72 - Accommodation and Food Services
• 81 - Other Services (except Public Administration)
• 92 - Public Administration
• 0 - No Industry Reported

The data link between high school graduates and future earnings makes it possible to follow students beyond high school and college into the workforce, enabling long-term evaluation of educational programs using workforce outcomes.

While DESE has published these data in the past, as of June 2025 we are temporarily pausing updates due to an issue conducting the link that was brought to our attention in 2023 by a team of researchers. The issue impacts the earnings information for students who never attended a postsecondary institution or who only attended private or out-of-state colleges or universities, beginning with the 2017 high school graduation cohort, with growing impact in each successive high school graduation cohort.

The issue does not impact the earnings information for students who attended a Massachusetts public institution of higher education, and earnings data for those students will continue to be updated.

Once a solution is found, the past cohorts of data with low match rates will be updated. DESE and partner agencies are exploring linking strategies to maximize the utility of the information.

More detailed information can be found in the attached memo provided by the research team from the Annenberg Institute. We thank them for calling this issue to our attention.

College Majors and their Graduates

Job Opportunities, Salaries and Gender Disparities

By FiveThirtyEight [source]

About this dataset

This repository contains a comprehensive selection of lavish data and processing scripts behind the articles, graphics, and interactive experiences generated by FiveThirtyEight. With this dataset, you'll have the power to explore college programs and their graduates like never before and create stories of your own! Whether you use it to check our work or craft your own powerful visuals, we would absolutely love to know if you found it useful. Under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License and MIT License respectively, our data is available for anyone who chooses to use it. Let us know how our resources turned out at

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Featured Notebooks

• 🚨 Your notebook can be here! 🚨!

Research Ideas

• Create an interactive comparison tool for researching college majors and their earning potential, so that prospective students can make informed decisions about what to study.
• Analyze the proportions of male and female graduates across different majors to uncover gender disparities in higher education.
• Explore the correlations between major categories, average salaries earned by graduates from specific major categories, unemployment rates for those with specific majors and more – to identify trends in job opportunities for certain specialties of study

Acknowledgements

If you use this dataset in your research, please credit the original authors. Data Source

License

License: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) - Public Domain Dedication No Copyright - You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. See Other Information.

Columns

File: majors-list.csv | Column name | Description | |:-------------------|:----------------------------------------------------| | FOD1P | First-level division of the field of study (String) | | Major | The specific major of the field of study (String) | | Major_Category | The broader category of the field of study (String) |

File: recent-grads.csv | Column name | Description | |:-------------------------|:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Major | The specific major of the field of study (String) | | Rank | The rank of the major in terms of popularity (Integer) | | Major_code | The code associated with the major (Integer) | | Major_category | The category of the major (String) | | Total | The total number of students in the major (Integer) | | Sample_size | The sample size of the major (Integer) | | Men | The number of male students in the major (Integer) | | Women | The number of female students in the major (Integer) | | ShareWomen | The percentage of female students in the major (Float) | | Employed | The number of employed graduates from the major (Integer) | | Full_time | The number of full-time employed graduates from the major (Integer) | | Part_time | The number of part-time employed graduates from the major (Integer) | | Full_time_year_round | The number of full-time year-round employed graduates from the major (Integer) | | Unemployed | The number of unemployed graduates from the major (Integer) | | Unemployment_rate | The unemployment rate of graduates from the major (Float) | | Median | The median salary of graduates from the major (Integer) | | P25th | The 25th percentile salary of graduates from the major (Integer) | | P75th | The 75th percentile salary of graduates from the major (Integer) | | College_jobs | The number of college jobs held by graduates from the major...

In 2023, the mean income of Black Bachelor's degree holders was ****** U.S. dollars, compared to ****** U.S. dollars for White Americans with a Bachelor's degree.

Employment income (in 2019 and 2020) by detailed major field of study and highest certificate, diploma or degree, including work activity (full time full year, part time full year, or part year).

In an impressive increase from years past, 40.1 percent of women in the United States had completed four years or more of college in 2024. This figure is up from 3.8 percent of women in 1940. A significant increase can also be seen in males, with 37.1 percent of the U.S. male population having completed four years or more of college in 2024, up from 5.5 percent in 1940. 4- and 2-year colleges In the United States, college students are able to choose between attending a 2-year postsecondary program and a 4-year postsecondary program. Generally, attending a 2-year program results in an Associate’s Degree, and 4-year programs result in a Bachelor’s Degree. Many 2-year programs are designed so that attendees can transfer to a college or university offering a 4-year program upon completing their Associate’s. Completion of a 4-year program is the generally accepted standard for entry-level positions when looking for a job. Earnings after college Factors such as gender, degree achieved, and the level of postsecondary education can have an impact on employment and earnings later in life. Some Bachelor’s degrees continue to attract more male students than female, particularly in STEM fields, while liberal arts degrees such as education, languages and literatures, and communication tend to see higher female attendance. All of these factors have an impact on earnings after college, and despite nearly the same rate of attendance within the American population between males and females, men with a Bachelor’s Degree continue to have higher weekly earnings on average than their female counterparts.

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Context

The gender pay gap or gender wage gap is the average difference between the remuneration for men and women who are working. Women are generally considered to be paid less than men. There are two distinct numbers regarding the pay gap: non-adjusted versus adjusted pay gap. The latter typically takes into account differences in hours worked, occupations were chosen, education, and job experience. In the United States, for example, the non-adjusted average female's annual salary is 79% of the average male salary, compared to 95% for the adjusted average salary.

The reasons link to legal, social, and economic factors, and extend beyond "equal pay for equal work".

The gender pay gap can be a problem from a public policy perspective because it reduces economic output and means that women are more likely to be dependent upon welfare payments, especially in old age.

This dataset aims to replicate the data used in the famous paper "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations", which provides new empirical evidence on the extent of and trends in the gender wage gap, which declined considerably during the 1980–2010 period.

Citation

fedesoriano. (January 2022). Gender Pay Gap Dataset. Retrieved [Date Retrieved] from https://www.kaggle.com/fedesoriano/gender-pay-gap-dataset.

Content

There are 2 files in this dataset: a) the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) microdata over the 1980-2010 period, and b) the Current Population Survey (CPS) to provide some additional US national data on the gender pay gap.

PSID variables:

NOTES: THE VARIABLES WITH fz ADDED TO THEIR NAME REFER TO EXPERIENCE WHERE WE HAVE FILLED IN SOME ZEROS IN THE MISSING PSID YEARS WITH DATA FROM THE RESPONDENTS’ ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT JOBS WORKED ON DURING THESE MISSING YEARS. THE fz variables WERE USED IN THE REGRESSION ANALYSES THE VARIABLES WITH A predict PREFIX REFER TO THE COMPUTATION OF ACTUAL EXPERIENCE ACCUMULATED DURING THE YEARS IN WHICH THE PSID DID NOT SURVEY THE RESPONDENTS. THERE ARE MORE PREDICTED EXPERIENCE LEVELS THAT ARE NEEDED TO IMPUTE EXPERIENCE IN THE MISSING YEARS IN SOME CASES. NOTE THAT THE VARIABLES yrsexpf, yrsexpfsz, etc., INCLUDE THESE COMPUTATIONS, SO THAT IF YOU WANT TO USE FULL TIME OR PART TIME EXPERIENCE, YOU DON’T NEED TO ADD THESE PREDICT VARIABLES IN. THEY ARE INCLUDED IN THE DATA SET TO ILLUSTRATE THE RESULTS OF THE COMPUTATION PROCESS. THE VARIABLES WITH AN orig PREFIX ARE THE ORIGINAL PSID VARIABLES. THESE HAVE BEEN PROCESSED AND IN SOME CASES RENAMED FOR CONVENIENCE. THE hd SUFFIX MEANS THAT THE VARIABLE REFERS TO THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY, AND THE wf SUFFIX MEANS THAT IT REFERS TO THE WIFE OR FEMALE COHABITOR IF THERE IS ONE. AS SHOWN IN THE ACCOMPANYING REGRESSION PROGRAM, THESE orig VARIABLES AREN’T USED DIRECTLY IN THE REGRESSIONS. THERE ARE MORE OF THE ORIGINAL PSID VARIABLES, WHICH WERE USED TO CONSTRUCT THE VARIABLES USED IN THE REGRESSIONS. HD MEANS HEAD AND WF MEANS WIFE OR FEMALE COHABITOR.

1. intnum68: 1968 INTERVIEW NUMBER
2. pernum68: PERSON NUMBER 68
3. wave: Current Wave of the PSID
4. sex: gender SEX OF INDIVIDUAL (1=male, 2=female)
5. intnum: Wave-specific Interview Number
6. farminc: Farm Income
7. region: regLab Region of Current Interview
8. famwgt: this is the PSID’s family weight, which is used in all analyses
9. relhead: ER34103L this is the relation to the head of household (10=head; 20=legally married wife; 22=cohabiting partner)
10. age: Age
11. employed: ER34116L Whether or not employed or on temp leave (everyone gets a 1 for this variable, since our wage analyses use only the currently employed)
12. sch: schLbl Highest Year of Schooling
13. annhrs: Annual Hours Worked
14. annlabinc: Annual Labor Income
15. occ: 3 Digit Occupation 2000 codes
16. ind: 3 Digit Industry 2000 codes
17. white: White, nonhispanic dummy variable
18. black: Black, nonhispanic dummy variable
19. hisp: Hispanic dummy variable
20. othrace: Other Race dummy variable
21. degree: degreeLbl Agent's Degree Status (0=no college degree; 1=bachelor’s without advanced degree; 2=advanced degree)
22. degupd: degreeLbl Agent's Degree Status (Updated with 2009 values)
23. schupd: schLbl Schooling (updated years of schooling)
24. annwks: Annual Weeks Worked
25. unjob: unJobLbl Union Coverage dummy variable
26. usualhrwk: Usual Hrs Worked Per Week
27. labincbus: Labor Income from...

In 2022, about 37.7 percent of the U.S. population who were aged 25 and above had graduated from college or another higher education institution, a slight decline from 37.9 the previous year. However, this is a significant increase from 1960, when only 7.7 percent of the U.S. population had graduated from college. Demographics Educational attainment varies by gender, location, race, and age throughout the United States. Asian-American and Pacific Islanders had the highest level of education, on average, while Massachusetts and the District of Colombia are areas home to the highest rates of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher. However, education levels are correlated with wealth. While public education is free up until the 12th grade, the cost of university is out of reach for many Americans, making social mobility increasingly difficult. Earnings White Americans with a professional degree earned the most money on average, compared to other educational levels and races. However, regardless of educational attainment, males typically earned far more on average compared to females. Despite the decreasing wage gap over the years in the country, it remains an issue to this day. Not only is there a large wage gap between males and females, but there is also a large income gap linked to race as well.

Retrospect on school and learning conditions of college graduates of the University and Technical College of Munich and judgement on current professional situation.

Topics: 1. General information on social and financial situation: see Demography.

1. School and college education: city size of cities where school was attended; type of school; evaluation of the higher school regarding skills provided; assessment of social class of family at the time of attending higher school; point in time of personal decision or parents´ desire for taking up university studies; length of temporal interruption between high school graduation and studies as well as reasons for this interruption; most important criteria for the choice of college city (scale); faculty or subject area; intellectual interest besides personal field of specialization; continuity or interruption of studies; general judgement on time of studies and skills learned (scale); alternatives to university education; expected influence of size, location and image of the university on one´s own occupational chances; certainty of the profession idea during studies as well as reasons for uncertainty; professional alternatives considered; interest in acquisition of a higher university degree (doctorate, Habilitation); taking up further studies; length of interruption between examination and supplemental studies; type of activity exercised in this time; occupational activities during the second study; assumed professional or social advantages of a higher university degree; assumed advantages of a college graduate compared to professional colleagues without college education; assessment of the necessity of personal further education measures in the future; judgement on significance of selected final examinations or tests on general social position and professional career; point in time of decision for current professional career.

2. Professional situation: profession or ideas about future profession area and the desired professional position; length and type of activity; company size; status in profession; change of job and occupation as well as assessment of probability of future changes; assessment of significance of special knowledge or all-round education for one´s own professional position; judgement on practice-orientation of university education; self-assessment of career chances; atmosphere at work; most important factors for one´s own choice of profession and job (scales); most important employer expectations in selecting personnel (scale); assessment of decisive criteria in personally being hired (scale); assessment of influence of professional experience and achievement-orientation on career development; significance of type of college for professional advancement; salary classification due to age or achievement; assessment of future opportunities to earn for graduates; occupational future expectations; conduct with loyality conflicts with employer; importance of selected goals in life (scale); life and job satisfaction.

Demography: age (classified); sex; marital status; income; city size; state; school education and type of college degree of father or mother or spouse; occupational position of father or mother; annual income of father or mother or spouse (classified); employment of mother or spouse; estimate of annual income in 10 years; receipt of scholarships or loans; receipt of financial support by parents; living in a group sharing a residence; personal share and share of spouse in total family annual income.

In the academic year of 2021/22, about 835,320 male and almost 1.18 million female students earned a bachelor's degree in the United States. By the academic year of 2031/32, the number of male bachelor's degree recipients is expected to reach 975,020. Bachelor’s degrees in the United States American students typically earn a Bachelor’s degree for an undergraduate course of study and it is normally completed in four years. Depending on the major, students receive a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Fine Arts, or another type of certificate. In 2021, about 1.17 million white students earned a Bachelor's degree, followed by 324,848 Hispanic students. Bachelor's degrees and earnings When looking at the mean income of Bachelor’s degree holders in 2021, there are marked differences between the female and male Bachelor’s degree holders. Men with a Bachelor’s degree earned about 107,315 U.S. dollars per year, compared to women, who earned 77,099 U.S. dollars per year. In addition, salaries tended to increase the more educated a person was.

The Education and Career Success dataset explores how students’ academic achievements, skills, and extracurricular activities translate into real-world career outcomes. By combining educational metrics (GPA, test scores, field of study) with measures of practical experience (internships, projects, certifications) and soft-skill indicators (networking, communication), this dataset provides a holistic view of the factors that drive early-career success.

Key Features

• Student Demographics

  • Student_ID: Unique identifier
  • Age, Gender

• Academic Performance

  • High_School_GPA (2.0–4.0)
  • SAT_Score (900–1600)
  • University_GPA (2.0–4.0)
  • Field_of_Study (e.g., Computer Science, Medicine)

• Skills & Extracurriculars

  • Internships_Completed (0–4)
  • Projects_Completed (0–9)
  • Certifications (0–5)
  • Soft_Skills_Score (1–10)
  • Networking_Score (1–10)

• Career Outcomes

  • Job_Offers (0–5)
  • Starting_Salary (USD 25,000–150,000)
  • Career_Satisfaction (1–10)
  • Years_to_Promotion (1–5 years)
  • Current_Job_Level (Entry, Mid, Senior, Executive)
  • Work_Life_Balance (1–10)
  • Entrepreneurship (Yes/No)

Potential Applications

• Predictive Modeling Build classifiers or regressors to forecast job offers, salaries, promotion timelines, or satisfaction.

• Feature Importance Analysis Identify which academic and experiential factors most strongly influence career success using model interpretability (e.g., SHAP).

• Segmentation & Profiling Cluster learners into distinct career-readiness profiles and tailor advice or interventions.

• Educational Insights Help career advisors and institutions pinpoint areas—such as networking or project experience—where students can improve to boost employability.

• Interactive Dashboards Develop visual tools (e.g., with Streamlit or Plotly) for stakeholders to explore how demographic, academic, and skill variables impact outcomes.

In 2022, Canada had the highest share of adults with a university degree, at over 60 percent of those between the ages of 25 and 64. India had the smallest share of people with a university degree, at 13 percent of the adult population. University around the world Deciding which university to attend can be a difficult decision for some and in today’s world, people are not left wanting for choice. There are thousands of universities around the world, with the highest number found in India and Indonesia. When picking which school to attend, some look to university rankings, where Harvard University in the United States consistently comes in on top. Moving on up One of the major perks of attending university is that it enables people to move up in the world. Getting a good education is generally seen as a giant step along the path to success and opens up doors for future employment. Future earnings potential can be determined by which university one attends, whether by the prestige of the university or the connections that have been made there. For instance, graduates from the Stanford Graduate School of Business can expect to earn around 250,000 U.S. dollars annually.