The 16 worst-paying college majors, five years after graduation
Study shows liberal arts and performing arts majors earn lowest salaries after college, while STEM fields have highest-paid majors.
- Bilawal Riaz
- 1 min read
A recent New York Federal Reserve analysis has shown that students who major in liberal arts, performing arts, and theology tend to earn the lowest salaries within five years of graduating from college, with a median annual income of $38,000 for all three majors. Other low-paying majors include leisure and hospitality, history, fine arts, and psychology, all earning $40,000 or less per year. On the other end of the spectrum, STEM fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics tend to have the highest-paid majors, with engineers earning the highest median income right after college at $80,000. Data from the study, based on 2022 U.S. Census data, reveals that mid-career graduates across all majors make more than the U.S. personal income median, with a median pay of $75,500.