U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

census.gov

Field of Degree and Earnings by Selected 

Employment Characteristics: 2011

American Community Survey Briefs

Issued October 2012

ACSBR/11-10

By Camille Ryan

INTRODUCTION

This brief provides information about the field or

major of bachelor’s degrees, earnings, and selected 

employment characteristics for the population aged 

25 and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Data 

on field of bachelor’s degree was first collected in 

the American Community Survey (ACS) in 2009. 

Respondents who reported that their highest degree 

completed was a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, 

professional degree, or doctorate degree were asked to 

write in the specific major(s) of their bachelor’s degree. 

Respondents with more than one bachelor’s degree, or 

with more than one major field, were allowed to report 

multiple fields of degree. This brief examines only the 

first field of degree reported. Identification of the field 

of degree was collected only for the bachelor’s degree.

GENERAL FINDINGS

Detailed Field of Degree and Work Status

There were 59 million people 25 years and older

who held a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2011

(Table 1). Business continued to be a popular major, 

with 12 million people who majored in this field. People who majored in business were also among those 

who were most likely to be employed full-time, yearround (64.1 percent). Education was the second most 

popular major at 8 million, but education majors were 

the least likely to be employed full-time, year-round 

(41.0 percent).1

1 Full-time, year-round is defined as working 50 to 52 weeks per 

year and 35 hours or more per week. Therefore, teachers who did not 

work during the summer months would not be considered full-time, 

year-round.

In addition to business, people who majored in a

science and engineering field also tended to have high 

percentages who were employed full-time, year-round. 

People who majored in computers, mathematics, and 

statistics, or majored in engineering were the most 

likely to report working full-time, year-round and 

among the least likely to report that they did not work 

at all.2 In contrast, most fields that were classified as 

arts, humanities, or other had lower rates of full-time, 

year-round employment. Less than half of those who 

majored in literature and languages (46.0 percent)

or visual and performing arts (48.3 percent) were

employed full-time, year-round.

Detailed Field of Degree, Earnings, and Class 

of Worker

Table 1 also shows that median annual earnings varied 

by field of degree and class of worker for those who 

were employed full-time, year-round. Class of worker is 

defined according to the type of employment organization of the respondent or whether the respondent was 

self-employed. Private sector includes both private 

for-profit and private not-for-profit employment. Government includes local, state, and federal government 

employment. Self-employed is defined as employment 

in one’s own business, professional practice, or farm. 

2 The percentage of people who majored in computers, mathematics, and statistics and were employed full-time, year-round was statistically different from the percentage of people who majored in engineering and were employed full-time, year-round. The percentage of people 

who majored in computers, mathematics, and statistics and did not 

work at all was not statistically different from the percentage of people 

who majored in multidisciplinary studies and did not work at all. The 

percentage of people who majored in engineering and did not work at 

all was not statistically different from those who majored in social sciences or visual and performing arts and did not work at all.
2 U.S. Census Bureau Table 1. Detailed Field of Bachelor’s Degree by Median Annual Earnings and Selected Employment Characteristics for the Population 25 Years and Over: 2011 (For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www) Field Total1 Work status (percent) Median earnings for full-time, year-round workers (dollars) Class of worker2 and earnings for full-time, year-round workers (dollars) Full-time, year- round Less than full-time, year- round Did not work Total Men Women Private sector Government Self-employed Percent Median earnings3 Percent Median earnings3 Percent Median earnings3 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,891 56.5 21.5 22.1 64,396 75,914 54,796 67.4 67,125 23.6 59,929 9.0 62,283 Science and engineering: Computers, mathematics, and statistics . . . 2,457 66.6 16.9 16.5 80,180 84,107 67,533 77.9 82,734 16.8 67,344 5.3 62,841 Biological, agricultural, and environmental sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,617 61.3 21.3 17.5 70,025 77,247 59,646 62.7 71,367 23.2 61,719 14.1 85,744 Physical and related sciences . . . . . . . . . . 2,039 57.4 18.3 24.4 80,037 90,648 61,363 68.3 82,910 21.4 67,077 10.4 91,697 Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,737 53.7 25.7 20.7 55,509 66,918 50,880 62.7 53,533 28.8 57,072 8.6 61,567 Social sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,599 57.0 21.6 21.4 70,197 80,526 57,370 62.7 70,970 25.9 65,887 11.4 75,471 Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,592 64.7 14.2 21.2 91,611 93,714 77,714 78.6 94,488 13.6 83,977 7.7 71,178 Multidisciplinary studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 56.4 26.1 17.6 55,704 70,886 51,959 64.7 57,334 28.7 53,816 6.6 55,751 Science and engineering-related fields . . . . . 5,303 56.1 24.0 20.0 69,615 78,178 65,761 74.8 70,599 18.4 64,257 6.8 70,844 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,037 64.1 17.4 18.6 66,605 76,130 56,152 75.9 68,465 13.9 61,490 10.2 62,159 Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,042 41.0 25.1 33.9 50,902 57,279 49,053 38.9 47,452 55.8 52,141 5.3 42,068 Arts, humanities, and other: Literature and languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,603 46.0 26.4 27.6 58,616 67,044 54,026 63.7 58,887 27.0 58,576 9.3 56,986 Liberal arts and history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,998 52.0 23.4 24.6 58,761 62,191 51,548 64.9 56,043 24.5 61,165 10.6 63,481 Visual and performing arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,344 48.3 30.8 20.9 50,484 53,917 46,670 69.7 50,432 16.6 52,738 13.7 42,344 Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,151 60.5 24.0 15.6 55,859 61,630 51,447 75.9 56,144 15.5 55,562 8.7 52,188 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,030 59.4 21.8 18.9 52,490 62,196 46,534 55.3 50,675 38.6 57,085 6.1 51,719 1 Numbers in thousands. 2 This distribution does not include those who were unemployed or were unpaid family workers. 3 Median earnings were calculated for those with earnings greater than zero. Note: For more information about the margins of error for this table, see Appendix Table 1 at the end of this report. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.
U.S. Census Bureau 3

People who majored in engineering had the highest earnings at 

$92,000 per year. They were also 

the most likely to be employed in 

the private sector (78.6 percent). 

Majors with the lowest overall 

median annual earnings, about 

$55,000 or less per year, included 

such fields as visual and performing arts, communications, education, and psychology.3

The fields of degree associated 

with the highest median earnings 

for women were the same as those 

for men, with median earnings of 

3 The median earnings for communication 

majors were not statistically different than 

the median earnings for psychology majors 

or multidisciplinary majors. Also, the median 

earnings of those who majored in psychology 

were not statistically different than those who 

majored in multidisciplinary studies.

engineering majors being highest 

for both. However, women earned 

less than men for every field 

of degree.

Earnings tended to be higher for 

all fields of degree among those 

who worked in the private sector 

compared with earnings of those 

who worked in government.4 One 

exception was earnings for those 

who majored in education. Fulltime, year-round government workers who held bachelor’s degrees in 

this field earned $52,000 per year, 

compared with $47,000 per year 

among those who worked in the 

4 Median earnings for private sector 

workers compared with government workers 

were not statistically different for those who 

majored in multidisciplinary studies, literature 

and languages, and communications.

private sector. Education majors 

were also the most likely to work in 

government of all fields of degree. 

More than half of all people who 

majored in education (55.8 percent) 

were government employees. This 

is not surprising given that public 

school teachers are classified as 

government employees. 

Broad Field of Degree, 

Earnings, and Self-Employment

Figure 1 highlights differences in 

earnings by broad field of degree 

for wage and salary workers versus 

people who were self-employed. 

It also shows differences for these 

two groups between those whose 

highest degree was a bachelor’s 

degree and those who went on to 

earn an advanced degree, such as 

Figure 1. 

Median Annual Earnings by Field of 

Bachelor’s Degree by Class of Worker

and Educational Attainment: 2011

(Population 25 years and over, full-time workers. For information

on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error,

and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Note: For more information about the margins of error for this figure, see Appendix Table 2 at the end of this report.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.

$72,000

$62,000

$81,000

$84,000

$38,000

$58,000

$51,000

$46,000

$65,000

$51,000

$44,000

$60,000

$64,000

$81,000

$53,000

$89,000

$96,000

$101,000

$66,000

$52,000

Wage and salary workers, advanced degree

Self-employed workers, advanced degree

Wage and salary workers, bachelor's degree

Self-employed workers, bachelor's degree

Arts, humanities,

and other

Education

Business

Science and

engineering-related

Science and

engineering
4 U.S. Census Bureau

a master’s, professional, or doctorate degree.5 Earnings are shown for 

full-time, year-round workers aged 

25 and over.

Among those whose highest degree 

was a bachelor’s, wage and salary workers consistently earned 

more than those who were selfemployed. This difference was 

most apparent among those who 

majored in science and engineering, where wage and salary 

workers earned $66,000 per year 

compared with $52,000 for selfemployed workers. 

Higher earnings for wage and salary workers were not always the 

5 It is important to note that Figure 1 

shows only the field of bachelor’s degree. A 

respondent who went on to earn a master’s, 

professional, or doctorate degree may not 

have earned their advanced degree in the 

same field shown in the figure.

case among those with advanced 

degrees. Self-employed people who 

majored in arts, humanities, and 

other fields earned $72,000 per 

year, compared with $65,000 per 

year for those who were wage and 

salary workers. For self-employed 

people who majored in science and 

engineering and held an advanced 

degree, the median annual earnings were about $100,000 per year. 

The earnings for self-employed 

people who majored in science 

and engineering-related fields and 

held advanced degrees were not far 

behind, at $96,000 per year. 

SOURCE AND ACCURACY

The data presented in this report 

are based on the ACS sample 

interviewed in 2011. The estimates 

based on this sample approximate 

the actual values and represent 

the entire household and group 

quarters population. Sampling 

error is the difference between an 

estimate based in a sample and the 

corresponding value that would be 

obtained if the estimate were based 

on the entire population (as from

a census). Measures of the sampling errors are provided in the 

form of margins of error for all 

estimates included in this report. 

All comparative statements in this 

report have undergone statistical testing, and comparisons are 

significant at the 90 percent level 

unless otherwise noted. In addition

to sampling error, nonsampling 

error may be introduced during 

any of the operations used to collect and process survey data such 

as editing, reviewing, or keying 

data from questionnaires. For 

more information on sampling and 

estimation methods, confidentiality protection, and sampling and 

nonsampling errors, please see the 

2011 ACS Accuracy of the Data 

document located at <www.census

.gov/acs/www/Downloads

/data_documentation/Accuracy

/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2011.pdf>.

What Is the American Community Survey?

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey designed 

to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, 

economic, and housing data for the nation, states, congressional districts, counties, places, and other localities every year. It has an annual 

sample size of about 3.3 million addresses across the United States and 

Puerto Rico and includes both housing units and group quarters (e.g., 

nursing facilities and prisons). The ACS is conducted in every county 

throughout the nation, and every municipio in Puerto Rico, where it 

is called the Puerto Rico Community Survey. Beginning in 2006, ACS 

data for 2005 were released for geographic areas with populations of 

65,000 and greater. For information on the ACS sample design and 

other topics, visit <www.census.gov/acs/www>.
U.S. Census Bureau 

5

Appendix Table 1.Margins of Error1 for Table 1: Detailed Field of Bachelor’s Degree by Median Annual Earnings and Selected 

Employment Characteristics for the Population 25 Years and Over: 2011

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Field

Total2

Work status (percent) Median earnings for full-time, year-round

workers (dollars)

Class of worker3 and earnings for full-time,

year-round workers

Full-time, 

yearround

Less

than

full-time,

year-

 round

Did not 

work

Private sector Government Self-employed

Total Men Women Percent

Median 

earnings4 Percent

Median 

earnings4 Percent

Median 

earnings4

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 0.117 0.091 0.095 231 178 199 0.148 151 0.147 303 0.088 301 

Science and engineering:

Computers, mathematics, and statistics . . . 16 0.564 0.373 0.440 732 1,585 2,039 0.563 1,179 0.518 1,731 0.290 5,482 Biological, agricultural, and environmental

sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 0.383 0.357 0.286 925 896 1,101 0.488 587 0.487 636 0.364 5,039 

Physical and related sciences . . . . . . . . . . 17 0.647 0.465 0.545 1,257 936 861 0.699 1,844 0.553 1,704 0.451 5,560 Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 0.521 0.430 0.393 455 1,352 358 0.771 992 0.712 781 0.460 1,187 Social sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 0.390 0.316 0.292 443 646 798 0.488 607 0.463 804 0.341 1,975 Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 0.410 0.302 0.343 374 787 2,128 0.398 829 0.352 2,025 0.222 2,039 Multidisciplinary studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1.391 1.271 1.087 1,431 3,228 805 1.994 3,167 1.797 2,189 0.943 12,842 

Science and engineering-related fields . . . . . 26 0.386 0.298 0.240 620 1,701 335 0.426 279 0.430 1,001 0.239 2,293 Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 0.219 0.163 0.189 262 300 333 0.280 728 0.259 349 0.185 539 Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 0.313 0.262 0.310 139 517 306 0.443 571 0.484 169 0.241 2,143 Arts, humanities, and other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Literature and languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 0.548 0.453 0.462 1,090 1,352 997 0.747 1,462 0.697 1,378 0.380 4,715 Liberal arts and history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 0.505 0.365 0.422 935 584 440 0.638 793 0.589 665 0.372 5,880 

Visual and performing arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 0.643 0.519 0.425 285 1,534 504 0.695 348 0.615 1,203 0.533 3,464 

Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 0.540 0.547 0.429 622 674 421 0.705 748 0.598 1,103 0.404 3,255 Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 0.531 0.409 0.370 465 445 394 0.707 398 0.642 627 0.349 1,450 

1 The margin of error can be interpreted roughly as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and 

upper confidence bounds) contains the true value.

2 Numbers are in thousands.3 This distribution does not include those who were unemployed or were unpaid family workers.4 Median earnings are calculated for those with earnings greater than zero.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.
6 U.S. Census Bureau

Appendix Table 2.

Margins of Error1 for Figure 1: Median Annual Earnings by Field of Bachelor’s Degree by 

Educational Attainment and Class of Worker: 2011

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Broad field

Median earnings2

 for full-time, year-round workers (dollars)

Highest degree is bachelor’s degree Highest degree is advanced3

 degree

Self-employed Wage and salary Self-employed Wage and salary

Science and engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478 304 648 778 

Science and engineering-related fields . . . . . . . 4,790 753 8,692 455 

Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635 210 2,388 1,128 

Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,676 368 2,073 579 

Arts, humanities, and other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,277 181 1,759 612 

1

 The margin of error can be interpreted roughly as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the 

estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. 2

 Median earnings are calculated for those with earnings greater than zero. 3

 Advanced degrees refer to a master’s, professional, or doctorate degree.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.