The highest-paying college majors are engineering and quantitative fields: bachelor's programs in naval architecture and marine engineering have median earnings of $92,559 one year after graduation, just ahead of operations research at $92,531, according to DataPorium's data from the federal College Scorecard release of June 10, 2026 [1][2]. Engineering fields fill 17 of the top 25 spots, and registered nursing, by far the largest field in the top 25, is 12th at $75,063 [1]. At the other end, drama and theatre arts programs report a median of $20,780 [1].
Which college majors pay the most?
The table ranks bachelor's degree fields of study by the median earnings of their programs one year after completion. It also shows how many programs report earnings, the four-year earnings, the median debt and the debt-to-earnings ratio [1].
| Rank | Field of study (bachelor's) | Programs with earnings | Earnings after 1 year | Earnings after 4 years | Median debt | Debt to earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering | 5 | $92,559 | $100,378 | $27,000 | 29.2% |
| 2 | Operations Research | 6 | $92,531 | $145,296 | $15,998 | 17.3% |
| 3 | Mathematics and Computer Science | 9 | $89,651 | $137,218 | $22,250 | 24.8% |
| 4 | Mining and Mineral Engineering | 5 | $85,897 | $95,707 | $24,903 | 29.0% |
| 5 | Marine Transportation | 7 | $84,187 | $117,176 | $23,703 | 28.2% |
| 6 | Mechatronics, Robotics and Automation Engineering | 5 | $80,491 | $105,016 | $27,000 | 33.5% |
| 7 | Systems Engineering | 11 | $79,942 | $114,815 | $20,500 | 25.6% |
| 8 | Computer Engineering | 180 | $79,205 | $105,753 | $23,000 | 29.0% |
| 9 | Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering | 266 | $77,636 | $98,640 | $23,074 | 29.7% |
| 10 | Construction Engineering | 14 | $75,998 | $101,108 | $24,696 | 32.5% |
| 11 | Metallurgical Engineering | 4 | $75,484 | $92,016 | $26,372 | 34.9% |
| 12 | Registered Nursing | 1,017 | $75,063 | $86,250 | $22,992 | 30.6% |
| 13 | Industrial Engineering | 95 | $74,787 | $97,790 | $24,312 | 32.5% |
| 14 | Nuclear Engineering | 10 | $74,132 | $96,752 | $21,963 | 29.6% |
| 15 | Materials Engineering | 33 | $74,110 | $91,799 | $22,556 | 30.4% |
| 16 | Engineering Science | 8 | $73,720 | $90,246 | $21,249 | 28.8% |
| 17 | Architectural Engineering | 13 | $73,510 | $87,298 | $25,508 | 34.7% |
| 18 | Engineering, Other | 17 | $73,153 | $94,278 | $22,500 | 30.8% |
| 19 | Chemical Engineering | 159 | $73,072 | $96,798 | $22,732 | 31.1% |
| 20 | Building Construction Finishing, Management and Inspection | 4 | $72,864 | $88,899 | $20,375 | 28.0% |
| 21 | Construction Management | 56 | $72,746 | $93,431 | $22,813 | 31.4% |
| 22 | Aerospace Engineering | 58 | $72,408 | $96,510 | $23,694 | 32.7% |
| 23 | Biomathematics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology | 4 | $72,338 | $123,320 | $18,000 | 24.9% |
| 24 | Construction Engineering Technology | 45 | $72,240 | $92,524 | $22,479 | 31.1% |
| 25 | Manufacturing Engineering | 14 | $72,154 | $88,690 | $20,988 | 29.1% |
Source: DataPorium Education, College Scorecard field-of-study data released June 10, 2026 [1][2]. Debt to earnings is median debt divided by earnings one year after completion.
Operations research has the lowest debt-to-earnings ratio in the top 25, at 17.3%, and the highest four-year earnings, $145,296 [1]. Metallurgical engineering has the highest ratio, 34.9% [1]. Computer science (field 1107) ranks 27th of 255 bachelor's fields at $71,458, just outside the table [1].
How were the majors ranked?
DataPorium groups every college program by field of study (the federal 4-digit instructional program code) and credential. For this ranking:
- Earnings after 1 year: each program reports the median yearly earnings of its graduates who work and are not enrolled, one year after completion. A field's figure is the median of those program medians, with each program counted once [1].
- Earnings after 4 years: the median of the programs' four-year earnings [1].
- Median debt: the median of the programs' median federal loan debt of graduates who borrowed [1].
- Selection: bachelor's degree programs only; a field needs at least three programs with earnings to be ranked. Small programs' earnings and debt are withheld for privacy and left out [1].
The College Scorecard's newest field-of-study files cover graduates through the pooled 2018-19 and 2019-20 award years [2]. Earnings are in dollars of the year they were measured, a few years ago, and are not adjusted for inflation [1]. Several top fields rest on four to seven programs, so the next section limits the ranking to large fields.
Which large majors pay the most?
Among the 61 bachelor's fields with at least 100 programs reporting earnings, the top 10 are [1]:
- Computer engineering: $79,205 (180 programs)
- Electrical, electronics and communications engineering: $77,636 (266)
- Registered nursing: $75,063 (1,017)
- Chemical engineering: $73,072 (159)
- Computer science: $71,458 (351)
- Mechanical engineering: $70,705 (326)
- Civil engineering: $69,424 (225)
- Biomedical engineering: $64,852 (120)
- Computer and information sciences, general: $61,831 (454)
- Information science: $61,514 (146)
Registered nursing is by far the largest of these fields, with 152,692 graduates in the newest year, more than three times computer science's 43,665 [1].
Which majors pay the least?
Using the same rule (at least 100 programs with earnings), the lowest-paying bachelor's fields one year after completion are arts, humanities and kinesiology [1]:
| Rank (lowest first) | Field of study (bachelor's) | Earnings after 1 year | Earnings after 4 years | Median debt | Debt to earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | $20,780 | $40,033 | $23,696 | 114.0% |
| 2 | Fine and Studio Arts | $24,649 | $41,394 | $23,447 | 95.1% |
| 3 | Communication Disorders Sciences | $24,702 | $58,556 | $20,500 | 83.0% |
| 4 | Film/Video and Photographic Arts | $25,344 | $45,226 | $23,250 | 91.7% |
| 5 | Music | $26,048 | $43,386 | $25,000 | 96.0% |
| 6 | Anthropology | $27,806 | $45,920 | $20,799 | 74.8% |
| 7 | Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | $28,418 | $47,141 | $23,250 | 81.8% |
| 8 | English Language and Literature, General | $29,848 | $48,926 | $22,000 | 73.7% |
| 9 | Radio, Television and Digital Communication | $30,036 | $49,359 | $22,480 | 74.8% |
| 10 | Sports, Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness | $30,540 | $53,336 | $24,250 | 79.4% |
Source: DataPorium Education, College Scorecard field-of-study data released June 10, 2026 [1][2].
Debt barely changes across fields: the median debt is $23,696 for drama and $23,000 for computer engineering [1]. The gap in pay is what moves the ratio. Earnings also rise steeply after the first year in these fields; communication disorders graduates go from $24,702 after one year to $58,556 after four [1].
Which colleges pay the most for computer science and nursing?
Computer science (bachelor's)
Of 351 computer science programs with earnings, the five best paid one year after completion are [1]:
| Rank | College | Earnings after 1 year | Earnings after 4 years | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California Institute of Technology | $173,344 | $200,511 | n/a |
| 2 | Carnegie Mellon University | $171,264 | $268,121 | $21,442 |
| 3 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | $154,492 | $225,141 | $11,077 |
| 4 | Cornell University | $152,656 | $223,309 | $14,750 |
| 5 | Harvard University | $152,251 | $203,169 | n/a |
Source: DataPorium Education, College Scorecard data released June 10, 2026 [1]. "n/a": withheld for privacy.
Carnegie Mellon's computer science graduates have the highest four-year earnings of the group, $268,121 [3]. The best-paid public program is the University of California-Berkeley's, seventh at $149,866, with 994 graduates in the newest year and median debt of $13,750 [4]. Caltech's figure is based on 23 graduates with earnings [1].
Registered nursing (bachelor's)
Of 1,017 nursing programs with earnings, the five best paid are all in California [1]:
| Rank | College | Earnings after 1 year | Earnings after 4 years | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sonoma State University | $125,646 | $143,886 | $12,500 |
| 2 | California State University-East Bay | $124,392 | $150,921 | $14,747 |
| 3 | Samuel Merritt University | $119,486 | $148,193 | $20,000 |
| 4 | California State University-Stanislaus | $119,356 | $126,959 | $22,000 |
| 5 | Pacific Union College | $119,258 | $140,542 | $29,833 |
Source: DataPorium Education, College Scorecard data released June 10, 2026 [1].
Eight of the ten best-paid nursing programs are in California and two are in New York [1]. Sonoma State's median of $125,646 is 1.7 times the nursing field's $75,063 [1][5]. Samuel Merritt is the largest program in the top five, with 511 graduates in the newest year [6].
Bachelor's programs in naval architecture earn a median $92,559 one year after graduation, the most of 255 fields, while drama programs earn $20,780.
Key takeaways
- Naval architecture and marine engineering ranks first at $92,559 one year after a bachelor's degree, ahead of operations research at $92,531 [1].
- 17 of the top 25 bachelor's fields are engineering fields; registered nursing is 12th at $75,063 [1].
- Among large fields, computer engineering leads at $79,205; drama is lowest at $20,780, with debt equal to 114.0% of first-year earnings [1].
- Caltech's computer science graduates earn a median $173,344 one year out, 2.4 times the field's $71,458 [1].
- All five best-paid nursing programs are in California, led by Sonoma State at $125,646 [1][5].
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest-paying college major?
Naval architecture and marine engineering, with a median of $92,559 one year after a bachelor's degree, in College Scorecard data released June 10, 2026 [1][2]. Among fields with at least 100 programs, computer engineering leads at $79,205 [1].
How much do computer science majors earn after graduation?
The median computer science bachelor's program reports $71,458 one year after completion and $98,882 after four years [1]. The top programs, Caltech and Carnegie Mellon, report more than $170,000 [1].
What is the lowest-paying college major?
Among fields with at least 100 programs, drama and theatre arts, at $20,780 one year after a bachelor's degree, followed by fine and studio arts at $24,649 [1].
How much do nursing graduates earn?
The median bachelor's nursing program reports $75,063 one year after completion and $86,250 after four years, with median debt of $22,992 [1].
Sources & References
- [1] DataPorium Education (fields of study and college programs ranked by earnings)
- [2] U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard data (last updated June 10, 2026; accessed October 13, 2026)
- [3] DataPorium Carnegie Mellon University (programs, debt and earnings)
- [4] DataPorium University of California-Berkeley (programs, debt and earnings)
- [5] DataPorium Sonoma State University (programs, debt and earnings)
- [6] DataPorium Samuel Merritt University (programs, debt and earnings)