Highest-paying college majors 5 years after graduation

Engineering majors earn some of the highest salaries right after college — and they’re still near the top years later.

That’s according to the latest findings from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, based on 2024 U.S. Census data, the most recent available.

The analysis breaks down annual earnings for college graduates by major and reflects the income of full-time workers whose highest degree is a bachelor’s, excluding currently enrolled students. Various engineering degrees have consistently ranked among the top-paying fields in recent years.

The highest-paying majors for workers ages 22 to 27 are computer engineering, computer science and chemical engineering, with recent graduates earning median early-career salaries of $85,000 or more. That’s well above the U.S  median personal income of just over $45,000, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. 

However, engineering accounts for about 6% of bachelor’s degrees awarded nationwide, representing a relatively small share of all college graduates, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Here are the 18 majors that lead to the highest salaries for workers ages 22 to 27:

1. Computer engineering: $90,000
2. Computer science: $87,000
3. Chemical engineering: $85,000
4. Aerospace engineering: $85,000
5. Industrial engineering: $83,000
6. Electrical engineering: $82,000
7. Mechanical engineering: $80,000
8. Construction services: $75,000
9. Civil engineering: $75,000
10. General engineering: $75,000
11. Miscellaneous engineering: $75,000
12. Economics: $72,000
13. Business analytics: $72,000
14. Finance: $70,000
15. Mathematics: $70,000
16. Nursing: $70,000
17. Mathematics: $70,000
18. Finance: $70,000

Engineering graduates remain in strong demand for their mix of mathematical skills and technical expertise, which are valuable across a wide range of industries, data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows.

While artificial intelligence is reshaping how the technical work is done, employment in many engineering fields is still projected to grow over the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Engineering also tends to pay well over time. Among graduates ages 35 to 45, every engineering major reports median pay of at least $100,000. Here are all of the majors with mid-career median earnings of $100,000 or more, according to the New York Fed.

1. Chemical engineering: $135,000
2. Computer engineering: $131,000
3. Aerospace engineering: $130,000
4. Electrical engineering: $123,000
5. Computer science: $120,000
6. Mechanical engineering: $120,000
7. Construction services: $120,000
8. Civil engineering: $115,000
9. Economics: $115,000
10. Finance: $112,000
11. Business analytics: $109,000
12. General engineering: $105,000
13. Miscellaneous engineering: $105,000
14. Physics: $105,000
15. Engineering technologies: $104,000
16. Industrial engineering: $100,000
17. Mathematics: $100,000
18. Information systems: $100,000
19. Marketing: $100,000
20. Biochemistry: $100,000
21. Political science: $100,000

In contrast, education and arts majors tend to earn significantly less overall. By ages 35 to 45, six fields of education majors report median earnings below $60,000, placing them among the lower-paid fields in the study.

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