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In Georgetown University’s 2025 analysis, petroleum engineering had the highest median earnings among the STEM majors it compared: $146,000 for prime-age bachelor’s degree holders. Across broader fields, the highest median earnings clustered in architecture and engineering; business; computers, statistics, and mathematics; health; and physical sciences. These are group medians—not starting salaries or promises about what a particular graduate will earn.
Which college majors pay the most?
Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) reports that median earnings are highest across five broad areas: architecture and engineering; business; computers, statistics, and mathematics; health; and physical sciences. Within STEM, petroleum engineering is the highest-earning example identified in the report, with a $146,000 median for prime-age bachelor’s degree holders.
That is not a complete descending ranking of every major. Georgetown’s 2025 report covers 152 majors for prime-age workers, but its summary does not publish a full ordered list in the material cited here. The official Georgetown CEW report and earnings tool is the better place to compare specific majors rather than infer an exact order from broad categories.
What the earnings figures mean
Georgetown’s 2025 report analyzes pooled American Community Survey data from 2009–2023 and expresses earnings in 2024 dollars. Its reported earnings measures cover full-time, full-year workers whose highest degree is a bachelor’s degree. For prime-age figures, Georgetown defines the group as ages 25–54; its separate early-career group is ages 22–26. See the report and data tool for the definitions.
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#1 Best Overall
| Comparison | Median earnings | Population and source |
|---|---|---|
| Petroleum engineering | $146,000 | Prime-age bachelor’s degree holders in Georgetown CEW’s 2025 STEM comparison; 2024 dollars. |
| STEM, broad field | $98,000 | Prime-age bachelor’s degree holders in Georgetown CEW’s 2025 analysis; 2024 dollars. |
| Education and public service, broad field | $58,000 | Prime-age bachelor’s degree holders in Georgetown CEW’s 2025 analysis; 2024 dollars. |
| Miscellaneous agriculture to petroleum engineering | $64,000–$146,000 | Range across 65 STEM majors in Georgetown CEW’s 2025 analysis of prime-age bachelor’s degree holders; 2024 dollars. |
| Computer science | $87,000 | 2024 early-career median for full-time workers whose highest education is a bachelor’s degree, as reported by College Board in Education Pays 2026, citing Federal Reserve Bank of New York analysis of ACS data. |
| Performing arts | $44,000 | 2024 early-career median for full-time workers whose highest education is a bachelor’s degree, as reported by College Board in Education Pays 2026, citing Federal Reserve Bank of New York analysis of ACS data. |
The College Board early-career figures use a different source framework and population from Georgetown’s prime-age figures, so they should not be read as a direct ranking against Georgetown’s $146,000 petroleum-engineering median. A higher prime-age median also does not tell you what a new graduate will earn.
Why the major alone cannot predict your salary
A median describes the midpoint of a group: half of the measured workers earned more and half earned less. It does not account for an individual’s location, experience, occupation, employer, hours, or career path, and it does not guarantee a graduate will find work in a field related to the degree.
Institution and major both matter. Federal Reserve Board research finds that major is, on average, a more important predictor of future wages than institutional selectivity, but also finds that major earnings premia and relative rankings can vary substantially across institutions. A national major-level figure therefore cannot predict the earnings of graduates from a particular college. Read the Federal Reserve Board paper for that institution-level qualification.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to compare majors for a financial decision
Compare like with like before using an earnings figure to choose a major or estimate a return on college costs. For each option, check:
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- Worker definition: confirm whether the figure covers full-time, full-year workers, and whether it includes only bachelor’s-degree holders.
- Dollar year and data period: earnings in 2024 dollars are not the same as a current salary offer; note the years of survey data behind the estimate.
- Employment outcomes: consider unemployment and underemployment alongside earnings where the data are available.
- Variation: compare detailed majors and, where possible, outcomes by institution rather than assuming a national median applies to a specific program.
- Education costs and fit: weigh likely borrowing and any additional education needed for the occupation against expected earnings, and consider whether the coursework and work suit you.
Georgetown’s tool includes earnings, graduate-degree rates, unemployment, and demographic breakdowns, which can help provide context beyond a salary-only comparison. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 ACS Table B15013 offers a separate view by sex and first bachelor’s field. Its universe is people ages 25–64 with earnings and a bachelor’s degree or higher, so those estimates are not directly interchangeable with Georgetown’s bachelor’s-only, full-time, full-year measures.
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