Navigating the Salary Landscape: Expectations for College Graduates
For college graduates, the transition from academia to the professional world involves many considerations. Among the most pressing is the anticipation surrounding starting salaries. Understanding average salary expectations is crucial for new graduates as they embark on their career journeys. This article explores the current salary landscape for college graduates, drawing on recent data and surveys to provide insights into trends, disparities, and factors influencing earning potential.
Promising Projections for the Class of 2026
Starting salary projections show promise for the upcoming Class of 2026, with nearly all categories of reported majors showing healthy increases. These increases range from 3.1% for engineering majors to 6.9% for computer sciences majors. The overall average salary for new college graduates has experienced a slight uptick as the final overall average salary is up 2.2% over the Class of 2023’s average. Class of 2025 engineering and business graduates at the master’s degree level are expected to see salaries climb 12.5% and 3.1%, respectively, according to results of NACE’s Winter 2025 Salary Survey.
Overall Salary Trends
Salaries for college graduates overall continue to climb as, for the second straight year, the increase in average salary for a graduating class has surpassed 7%. Hiring projections were up in January 2025, according to NACE. 57.1 percent of employers expect to maintain the number of college graduate hires steady, while over a quarter (27 percent) will increase hires. What’s more, bachelor’s degree earners in the Class of 2025 will have higher starting salaries depending on major, according to NACE data.
Median weekly earnings of the nation’s 110.8 million full-time wage and salary workers age 25 and over were $1,258 in the first quarter of 2025. This was 5.7 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 2.7 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the same period. At each level of educational attainment, workers’ weekly earnings were around double what they were 25 years earlier, in the first quarter of 2000. High school graduates with no college education had earnings of $953, up from $901 the prior year. Those with some college or an associate degree had median weekly earnings of $1,096, compared with $1,027 the previous year. College graduates holding at least a bachelor's degree had median weekly earnings of $1,754, up from $1,680 a year earlier.
The Enduring Value of a College Degree
Data shows that college remains one of the best paths to well-paying jobs. Bachelor’s degree holders earn on average 66 percent more than high school graduates. As mentioned, college graduates make 66% more weekly than high school graduates. Weekly, high school graduates earn a median amount of $930 compared to $1,543 for workers with a bachelor’s degree, according to the BLS. Those with a master’s degree earn a median weekly pay of $1,840, while those with a professional degree earn $2,363 weekly.
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Despite degree-based hiring trends taking a dip, median college graduate earnings still outpace those of high school graduates. College graduates earn more than 50% of what high school graduates do.
According to Census Bureau estimates, prime‑working‑age adults (25 to 64) with full‑time jobs and a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $105,381 in 2024. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also collects wage data, publishing weekly medians instead of annual averages. According to BLS data, people working full-time whose highest level of education was a bachelor’s degree made a median of $1,543 per week in 2024. Both datasets show a similar pattern: people in the prime working age group with bachelor’s degrees earn more on average than people without any post-secondary education, at least when they’re working full-time.
The evidence that a college degree significantly improves one’s employment prospects and earnings potential is overwhelming. On an annual basis, median earnings for bachelor’s degree holders are $40,500 or 86 percent higher than those whose highest degree is a high school diploma. The earnings gap between college graduates and those with less education continues to widen. In 2023, median income for recent graduates reached $60,000 a year for bachelor’s degree holders aged 22-27. Recent college graduates also weathered the Great Recession far better than their peers with a high school diploma. Today, the jobless rate for bachelor’s degree holders is less than 3 percent. And the incidence of poverty among bachelor’s degree holders is 3.5 times lower than it is for those who hold high school degrees. A college education is expected to become even more valuable.
Consider health and safety, prerequisites for leading a fulfilling life. Bachelor’s degree holders are 47 percent more likely to have health insurance provided through their job and their employers contribute 74 percent more to their health coverage. Life expectancy is also longer for those who attend college.
Major Matters: Highest and Lowest Earning Fields
Which are the highest-earning majors among bachelor’s degree holders? People with bachelor’s degrees in metallurgical engineering had the highest average annual earnings among four-year college grads in 2024, earning an average of $165,110. A collection of science, engineering and finance-related degrees round out the top 10 highest-paid majors, each with an average above $142,000.
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Which are the lowest-earning majors? In 2024, full-time prime working age people who majored in library science earned the least, averaging $56,192 in 2024. Other lower-earning fields included early childhood education ($60,004), educational psychology ($60,209), counseling psychology ($60,996), and elementary education ($62,156).
The highest-paid individual majors were in the engineering field: computer ($82,565) and software engineering ($82,536). Employer respondents indicated the most in-demand majors are finance and computer science, with two-thirds of respondents indicating they will hire students in these majors.
High-Growth Occupations Requiring a Bachelor's Degree
Which bachelor’s degree occupations are projected to grow the most? The five occupations that usually require bachelor’s degrees for entry-level positions projected to add the most jobs in the next decade all have above-average salaries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that data science will add the most jobs (33.5% employment growth) from 2024 to 2034.
What are the highest-paying occupations for people with bachelor’s degrees? In 2024, airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers had the highest annual median wages for occupations that typically require a bachelor’s degree. While there are aviation-related bachelor’s degrees, this occupation typically requires a bachelor’s degree of any kind along with additional training from Federal Aviation Administration certified training and experience as a commercial or military pilot. Many of the highest-paying occupations require five or more years of experience in addition to the degree.
Where do the highest-paying jobs pay the highest wages? In May 2024, airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers in Kentucky made the highest average wages, at $413,070 per year. Chief executives had the highest - $465,040 - in New Jersey. Computer and information systems managers made the most in California, at $232,710, while architectural and engineering managers in New Mexico topped their fields with $209,730. And financial managers brought home the most in New York, $244,250.
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Factors Influencing Salary
Using NACE’s Salary Survey report, Andrea Koncz offers a historical perspective on starting salaries to new college graduates from 1960 through 2015. The overall economy, corporate scandals, new legal requirements, the dot-com bubble and burst-a variety of factors have affected the rise and fall of starting salaries for new college graduates over the past half century. Salary typically increases with age and experience up to a point.
The Persistence of Pay Disparities
Disparities still exist based on age, race and gender: women, racial minorities and older workers make less. The market still reflects age, race and gender disparities. Despite these endeavors, the racial and gender pay gaps persist. “We know that the gender pay gap and the racial pay gap - and intersections of those - are still a feature broadly of our labor market,” says Mary Gatta, Nace’s director of research and public policy. On average, female graduates earn less than their male counterparts. The gap is particularly large between Asian and Hispanic full-time workers with a master’s degree or higher.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and pay transparency laws enacted by a number of states are helping to advance equal pay for equal or similar work.
Preparing for Salary Negotiation
“It is important for students to really work hard on preparing for salary negotiations. The gaps exist even if you control for seasonal and part-time labor.
Student Expectations and Preferences
A November 2024 student survey by ScholarshipOwl found, on average, respondents expect to earn $60,000 to $80,000 per year for their first full-time job after they graduate. In addition to having a competitive salary, students are most interested in jobs that provide tuition reimbursement or support for student loan repayment (61 percent), retirement savings benefits (59 percent), medical and dental benefits (58 percent), and paid vacation and holidays (49 percent).
Stress and Financial Considerations
Graduating college is a stressful process for many, with a May 2024 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed and Generation Lab finding seven in 10 current students feel at least somewhat stressed thinking and preparing for life postgraduation.
With college affordability still an issue for millions of Americans, many turn to student loans when other aid falls short. 43 percent of adults consider student loans a financial burden, causing issues like increased stress, depression, sleep loss and anxiety. If you need to finance the cost of education, look into employer and state assistance. 35 percent of adults consider getting a college degree part of the American Dream, according to Bankrate’s Home Affordability Survey.
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