Average history major salary

Updated September 14, 2023

$50,893

$23,00010%

$50,893Median

$111,00090%

What is the average history major salary in the US?

History major graduates in America make an average salary of $50,893 per year or $24.47 per hour.There is a huge gap between the top 10 percent earners and the bottom 10 percent earners -- about $88,000. The top 10 percent earn over $111,000, while the bottom 10 percent make less than $23,000 annually.Most jobs for history majors are in retail companies and insurance companies.Some of the states with the best salaries for history major graduates are New York,Connecticut, California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.

Best paying cities

$61,487

$61,456

$59,174

Average history salary by company

History major graduates report their job security as good. But just as in every field, some employers pay higher wages than others.Most jobs for history majors are in retail companies and retail companies.Google and AEA Investors are the highest paying companies.In addition, companies like BNY Mellon and Deutsche Bank report highly competitive salaries for history majors.

Average salary by company

Rank	Company	Zippia score	Average history salary
1	1.Google	4.8	$100,020
2	2.AEA Investors	4.7	$93,058
3	3.BNY Mellon	4.4	$81,385
4	4.Deutsche Bank	4.9	$79,422
5	5.SpecialCounsel	4.2	$77,091
6	6.Law Office	4.1	$75,904
7	7.CDM Smith	4.8	$75,573
8	8.Morgan Stanley	4.6	$75,513
9	9.Thomson Reuters	4.6	$74,856
10	10.Merrill Lynch	4.9	$74,791
11	11.Smithsonian Institution	4.6	$72,657
12	12.New York University	4.8	$71,725
13	13.Booz Allen Hamilton	4.9	$71,590
14	14.UBS	4.5	$70,638
15	15.Edward Jones	4.5	$70,338
16	16.Columbia University in the City of New York	4.2	$67,867
17	17.Northwestern Mutual	4.5	$65,900
18	18.Harvard University	4.2	$63,763
19	19.New York Life Insurance	4.5	$63,628
20	20.California State University	4.2	$63,035

Average history major salary by city

History major graduates in the United States of America make on average $50,893 a year or $24.47 per hour.New York, NY reports the highest annual salary for history majors at 61,487.The New York, NY average entry-level salary for history majors is $28,000.San Francisco, CA, Washington, DC, Boston, MA, Seattle, WA, Baltimore, MD, and Philadelphia, PA also have great salaries for history major graduates.New York, Connecticut, California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts are the highest paying states.The lowest earning states are South Carolina, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

Average salary by location

Rank	City	Average history salary	Salary range
1	New York, NY	$61,487	$29k $92k
2	San Francisco, CA	$61,456	$29k $92k
3	Washington, DC	$59,174	$29k $92k
4	Boston, MA	$57,767	$29k $92k
5	Seattle, WA	$54,503	$29k $92k
6	Baltimore, MD	$53,432	$29k $92k
7	Philadelphia, PA	$52,148	$29k $92k
8	Richmond, VA	$51,205	$29k $92k
9	Albany, OR	$50,792	$29k $92k
10	Chicago, IL	$49,532	$29k $92k
11	Las Vegas, NV	$49,090	$29k $92k
12	Portland, ME	$48,577	$29k $92k
13	Cleveland, OH	$47,726	$29k $92k
14	Saint Paul, MN	$47,029	$29k $92k
15	San Antonio, TX	$46,458	$29k $92k
16	Raleigh, NC	$46,059	$29k $92k
17	Madison, WI	$45,920	$29k $92k
18	Phoenix, AZ	$45,895	$29k $92k
19	Denver, CO	$45,422	$29k $92k
20	Atlanta, GA	$44,017	$29k $92k

Average history major salary by state

The darker areas on the map show where history majors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average salary

History major average salary by state

State	Average history major salary	Average hourly rate
New York	$61,558	$29.60
Connecticut	$59,286	$28.50
California	$58,727	$28.23
New Jersey	$58,249	$28.00
Massachusetts	$57,863	$27.82
Rhode Island	$54,350	$26.13
Washington	$54,130	$26.02
Maryland	$53,341	$25.64
Delaware	$52,453	$25.22
Pennsylvania	$51,880	$24.94
Virginia	$51,438	$24.73
New Hampshire	$51,146	$24.59
Oregon	$50,555	$24.31
Vermont	$49,626	$23.86
Nevada	$49,428	$23.76
Illinois	$49,383	$23.74
Alaska	$48,982	$23.55
Michigan	$48,667	$23.40
Hawaii	$48,626	$23.38
Maine	$48,278	$23.21
Minnesota	$47,159	$22.67
Wisconsin	$46,538	$22.37
Ohio	$46,487	$22.35
Arizona	$45,981	$22.11
Texas	$45,894	$22.06
Colorado	$45,639	$21.94
North Dakota	$45,532	$21.89
North Carolina	$45,327	$21.79
West Virginia	$45,219	$21.74
Georgia	$44,106	$21.20
New Mexico	$43,777	$21.05
Idaho	$43,696	$21.01
Indiana	$43,188	$20.76
Wyoming	$43,156	$20.75
Kentucky	$42,791	$20.57
Tennessee	$42,509	$20.44
Utah	$42,368	$20.37
Iowa	$42,335	$20.35
Nebraska	$42,331	$20.35
Alabama	$42,255	$20.31
Florida	$42,230	$20.30
South Dakota	$41,911	$20.15
Kansas	$41,612	$20.01
Montana	$41,589	$19.99
South Carolina	$41,301	$19.86
Louisiana	$41,158	$19.79
Missouri	$41,107	$19.76
Mississippi	$40,418	$19.43
Arkansas	$40,303	$19.38
Oklahoma	$39,745	$19.11

Highest paying jobs for history majors

Rank	Job title	Average salary	Open jobs
1	Attorney	$109,476	10,991
2	Data Scientist	$106,104	106,973
3	Software Engineer	$100,259	339,938
4	User Experience Researcher	$99,848	24,148
5	Adjunct Professor	$98,820	22,488
6	Front End Developer	$92,147	124,876
7	Real Estate Agent	$91,787	41,399
8	User Experience Designer	$91,159	52,582
9	Assistant Professor	$87,099	30,531
10	Salesforce Administrator	$86,565	57,792
11	Senior Finance Analyst	$83,222	117,609
12	Information Technology Specialist	$81,240	122,519
13	Web Developer	$78,975	227,881
14	Intelligence Analyst	$77,752	21,390
15	Systems Administrator	$77,155	134,500
16	Business & Data Analyst	$75,461	188,716
17	Program Analyst	$75,039	156,716
18	Business Analyst	$74,430	170,514
19	Data Analyst	$74,342	167,520
20	Quality Assurance Tester	$74,139	82,396

Average history major salary by industry

Wages for history major graduates can differ based on the industry they work in.By looking at our data, we can see that technology companies, hospitality companies, and manufacturing companies pay history major graduates well.technology companies pay history major graduates the highest wages, averaging $67,624 per year. Hospitality companies and manufacturing companies pay well too, at $51,724 and $47,401, respectively.The average history major salary in the health care industry is lower than the rest, coming in at $34,462.

Average salary by industry

Rank	Industry	Average history major salary	Range
1	Technology	$67,624	$26k $89k
2	Hospitality	$51,724	$26k $89k
3	Manufacturing	$47,401	$26k $89k
4	Telecommunication	$46,887	$26k $89k
5	Media	$46,865	$26k $89k
6	Professional	$45,003	$26k $89k
7	Retail	$43,375	$26k $89k
8	Education	$41,187	$26k $89k
9	Finance	$37,813	$26k $89k
10	Government	$36,160	$26k $89k
11	Health Care	$34,462	$26k $89k

Salary history for history major graduates

This data shows the national average salary between 2011-2020 among History major graduates.

History major salary by experience level

Average salary by experience level salaries by experience level

The salary for a history major graduate can range from $31,841 to $89,064 depending on the amount of work experience that the person has. Data on how experience level affects salary is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as part of their National Compensation Survey, which is based on factors such as knowledge, complexity, contacts, and environment.

Experience level	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
Entry-level average salary by experience level	$31,800	$15.31
Mid-level average salary by experience level	$49,800	$23.93
Senior-level average salary by experience level	$89,100	$42.82

Updated September 14, 2023