New Data Highlights College Majors With Highest and Lowest Lifetime Earnings

1-Minute Brief

Understanding which college majors offer higher financial returns can help students make informed decisions about their education and future careers.

Key Facts

• Recent reports analyze the financial returns of different college majors over a graduate's lifetime.
• Some majors are associated with higher lifetime earnings, according to new data.
• Majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are frequently cited among the highest earning.
• Other majors, such as those in the arts and humanities, are reported to have lower average lifetime earnings.
• The findings are based on data reviewed by both USA Today and BBC News.

What Happened

USA Today and BBC News published reports examining which college majors tend to yield the highest and lowest financial returns over a graduate's lifetime, based on new data.

Why It Matters

These findings may influence students' choices of college majors and inform discussions about the value of higher education relative to future earnings.

What's Next

Students, families, and policymakers may use this data to guide education and career planning. Further analysis may explore additional factors influencing earnings.