35+ College Grad Earnings Statistics [2023]: Average Starting Salary Out Of College

Research Summary. Once college students start getting nearer to graduation day; they often start wondering how much they’ll make once they begin working. The answer to these changes is based on a number of criteria, so here are some statistics about average starting salaries for recent college graduates:

• The average starting salary for the graduating class of 2022 is $55,260.

• Computer science majors have the highest average starting salary of all degree programs, at $75,900.

• The median starting salary for college graduates is $47,000.

• The average starting salary for college graduates increased by 2.5% from 2019 to 2020.

• A person with a bachelor’s degree earns 75% more than they would have with only a high school diploma.

For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways:
Over Time | Expectations | Region | Ethnicity | Gender | Public/Private | Graduate Benefits | School

Starting Salary Out of College by Major

• The majors with the highest paying salaries out of college are electrical engineering and computer science, with an average salary of $108,500 for those with five or fewer years of experience.

  The ten majors with the highest-paying jobs right out of college include:

  Average Salary of Majors with the Highest-Paying Jobs Right Out Of College

  Major	Average Salary for Employee with Zero to Five Years of Experience
  Electrical Engineering & Computer Science	$108,500
  Physician Assistant Studies	$95,900
  Petroleum Engineering	$93,200
  Operations Research & Industrial Engineering	$84,800
  Operations Research	$83,500
  Nuclear Engineering Technology	$83,500
  Metallurgical Engineering	$81,800
  Computer Science & Business	$81,100
  Electronic Systems Technology	$81,000
  Welding Engineering	$81,000

• The major with the lowest average salary for graduates with zero to five years of experience are voice and opera, with a salary of $34,500.

  The ten majors with the lowest-paying jobs right out of college are

  Average Salary of Majors with the Lowest-Paying Jobs Right Out Of College

  Major	Average Salary for Employee with Zero to Five Years of Experience
  Voice & Opera	$34,500
  Painting & Printmaking	$34,700
  Psychology & Human Services	$35,600
  Equine Studies	$35,700
  Rehabilitation Services	$35,800
  Medical Assisting	$36,000
  Early Childhood Education	$36,100
  Mental Health Counseling	$36,100
  Child and Family Studies	$36,400
  Biblical Studies & Practical Ministries	$36,400

• The major with the highest mid-career pay is petroleum engineering, with workers who have ten or more years of experience earning an average salary of $187,300.

  Behind petroleum engineering come operations research & industrial engineering and electrical engineering & computer science with average mid-career salaries of $170,400 and $159,300, respectively.

Starting Salary Out of College Over Time

• The average starting salary for workers who graduated college in 2022 is $55,260.

• There was less than a 1% annual increase in average starting salaries for college graduates from 2015 to 2018.

• There was a 5.8% increase in average starting salaries for college students, by far the largest jump in six years from 2018 to 2019.

Percent Change for Average Starting Salary from Previous Year

Starting Salary Out of College Expectations

• Students with an undergraduate or graduate degree overestimate what they’ll earn straight out of college by about 23%.

  Some majors are more accurate with their estimations than others are, and only nursing and computer science majors underestimated their salaries. The estimates of humanities, liberal arts, English, and history majors were actually almost spot on with reality, and engineering majors weren’t far off either.

  Expected Average Salary Versus Actual Medial Ealy Career Salary

  Major	Expected Average Salary (2022)	Actual Median Early Career Salary
  Engineering	$73,922	$64,200
  Physical or Life Sciences	$64,428	$50,900
  Nursing	$62,417	$66,600
  Business	$60,695	$46,500
  Computer Science	$75,900	$68,800
  Political Science/Economics	$58,601	$52,400
  Finance/Accounting	$56,638	$54,500
  Psychology	$53,673	$49,900
  Communications	$55,455	$41,800
  Education	$46,616	$41,000
  Humanities/Liberal Arts/English/History	$50,681	$43,860
  Agriculture and natural resources	$57,807	$68,446

• Computer science majors in 2022 earn an average salary about $7,000 higher than the average starting salary.

  Projected to earn almost $76,000, computer science majors are in high demand. Currently, they’re expected to earn over $7,000 on average more than others starting in similar fields.

• Business majors overestimate the average salaries they’ll earn right out of college by about $14,200.

  These students expect to earn an average of about $60,695 a year, but in reality, they earn a median salary of $46,500. This is a difference of about 31%.

• Female students expect to earn an average of approximately $4,300 less than men each year.

  This is especially true for those in political science and economics majors, with women expecting to earn about $48,500 out of college and men expecting to earn about $74,000.

  However, there are several majors where women anticipate that they’ll earn more than men:

  • Nursing

  • Physical or Life Sciences

  • Computer Science

  • Communications/Journalism

  • Humanities/Liberal Arts/English/Philosophy/History

Starting Salary Out of College by Region

• The Mid-Atlantic region has the highest average starting salary for college graduates in 2021 at $63,457.

  This region had 95,254 graduates in 2021. Its average salary is closely followed by the Far West region, which has an average starting salary of $62,655 among 81,940 graduates, and The Southeast region, which has 131,016 students earning an average starting salary of $59,639.

• The Plains region has the lowest average starting salary for college graduates in 2020 at $50,972.

  This region saw 24,582 graduates during this year. The Great Lakes region has the second-lowest average starting salary at $56,400 and 88,628 students, and the New England region follows this with a average starting salary $57,834 and 19,643 graduates.

• The Mid-Atlantic region has the highest rate of employed graduates at 67%.

  New England comes in a close second with 66.1%, and the Southwest and Southeast regions come in last with 53% and 55% of their graduates employed after graduation, respectively.

Starting Salary Out of College by Ethnicity

• Asian-American graduates have the highest mean starting salary at $75,164.

  Graduates who had visas to study in the U.S. and are considered international students have the next-highest average starting salary of $68,834.

  Multi-racial graduates have the third-highest average starting salary at $57,691.

• Native American graduates have the lowest average starting salary at $53,528.

  Hawaiian/Pacific Islander graduates see the second-lowest average starting salary of $53,844, and Hispanic-American graduates have the third-lowest at $55,833.

• 62.7% of white graduates are employed after college, the highest of any ethnicity.

  Native American students are the second highest rate at 60.3% and are closely followed by Multi-racial graduates with a rate of 60.1%.

  59.3% of Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students are employed after graduation followed by Asian-American students at 58.1%. African-American students have graduate employment a rate at 57.7% and Hispanic-American graduates have graduate employment rate of 57.3%.

  Just 44.1% of international students are employed after graduation, but this demographic has a significantly higher rate of students continuing their education after graduation than the other demographics do.

Starting Salary Out of College by Gender

• The average starting salary of males who graduated in 2021 is $64,023.

• The average starting salary of females who graduated in 2021 is $52,695.

• The average starting salary of nonbinary students who graduated in 2021 is $50,272.

Starting Salary Out of College by Public/Private

• Recipients of bachelor’s degrees from private institutions have an average starting salary of $60,353, in 2021.

• Students who graduated with bachelor’s degrees from public institutions have an average starting salary of $58,145, in 2021.

• Graduates of private master’s degree programs earn an average starting salary of $76,883, in 2021.

• Graduates of public master’s degree programs earn an average starting salary of $69,818, in 2021.

Graduate Benefits Expectations

• On a scale of one to seven, one being the most important, recent graduates believe that an excellent insurance plan is the most important benefit, giving this benefit a ranking of three.

  This is followed closely by a competitive salary, which received an average ranking of 3.7.

• On a scale of one to seven, one being the most important, recent graduates believe that student loan repayment assistance is the least important benefit, giving this benefit an average ranking of 4.5.

  This is closely tied to the fact that 37% of surveyed college students said they didn’t believe their degree would be worth the cost, compared to 50% who said the same in 2015.

  Younger students aren’t going to college quite as readily, which means they value a high-paying job that doesn’t require a degree over an employer willing to pay off their student loans.

• Employee benefits ranked as moderately important by recent graduates, which include flex time, a fun work environment, and generous PTO.

  Here are how these benefits ranked on a scale of one to seven, seven being the least important:

  • Flex Time: 4.3

  • Generous PTO: 4.1

  • Fun Work Environment: 4.0

  • Retirement Plan with High Company Match: 3.9

Starting Salary Out of College by School

• Graduates of California Institute of Technology (CIT) earns a median starting salary of $82,900.

• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduates earn a median starting salary of $82,700.

• Graduates of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) earn a median starting salary of $74,600.

• Graduates of Stanford University (SU) earn a median starting salary of $73,900.

• Graduates of Thomas Jefferson University (PhilaU) earn a median starting salary of $73,000.

Starting Salary After College FAQ

1. What is a good starting salary out of college?

   A good starting salary out of college is between $50,000 and $60,000. This lines up with the current average of $55,260, which is over $10,000 more than the median starting salary for high school graduates ($41,251).

   However, many soon-to-be college grads heavily overestimate their starting salary, with many students estimating they will earn upwards of $104,000 at their first job.

2. Where should I be financially at 25?

   You should try to save at least half of your annual expenses at 25. For instance, if you spend $30,000 per year of your $55,000 salary, you should try to save at least $15,000. This will allow you to prepare for important purchases, like a home, vehicles, or trips, as well as make it easier for you to retire later on.

Conclusion

A college graduate’s average starting salary depends greatly on their major. Generally speaking, graduates who study disciplines such as engineering or computer science will earn significantly more than those who study music or ministry.

Students aren’t always aware of what they’ll likely earn upon graduation. However, most of them overestimate what they’ll achieve by about 23%. Nursing and computer science majors are the exceptions, with students in both majors regularly underestimating what they’ll earn out of college.

The average 2022 graduate earns $55,260 a year in their first job.

References

1. CNBC. “More Education Doesn’t Always Get You More Money, Report Finds.” Accessed on December 17, 2021.

2. Payscale. “College Salary Report: Highest Paying Jobs with a Bachelor’s Degree.” Accessed on December 17, 2021.

3. NACE. “Salaries for College Graduates Climb Even in the Face of the Pandemic.” Accessed on December 17, 2021.

4. NACE. “Class of 2017’s Overall Starting Salary Shows Little Gain.” Accessed on December 17, 2021.

5. NACE. “Average Salary for Class of 2019 Up Almost 6 Percent Over Class of 2018’s.” Accessed on December 17, 2021.

6. NACE. “Class of 2018’s Overall Starting Salary Remains Flat.” Accessed on December 17, 2021.

7. NACE. “Average Starting Salary for Class of 2016 Held Steady.” Accessed on December 17, 2021.

8. NACE. “Overall Starting Salary for Class of 2015 Graduates Up 4.3 Percent.” Accessed on December 17, 2021.

9. Clever. “Reality Check: Exploring Unrealistic Undergraduate Salary Expectations.” Accessed on December 17, 2021.

10. NACE. “First Destinations for the College Class of 2020.” Accessed on December 17, 2021.

11. U.S. News. “10 National Universities Where Grads Are Paid Well.” Accessed on December 17, 2021.

12. NACE. “First Destinations for the College Class of 2021.” Accessed on February 27, 2023.

Author

Abby McCain

Abby is a writer who is passionate about the power of story. Whether it’s communicating complicated topics in a clear way or helping readers connect with another person or place from the comfort of their couch. Abby attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she earned a degree in writing with concentrations in journalism and business.