Average sociology major salary

Updated September 14, 2023

$40,376

$21,00010%

$40,376Median

$77,00090%

What is the average sociology major salary in the US?

Sociology major graduates in America make, on average, $40,376 a year or $19.41 per hour.The top 10 percent make over $77,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent make under $21,000 per year.Most jobs for sociology majors are in health care companies and professional companies.California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Massachusetts have the highest paying jobs for sociology major graduates.

Best paying cities

$49,248

$46,907

$46,423

Average sociology salary by company

Sociology major graduates report their job security as good. But just as in every field, some employers pay higher wages than others.health care companies and professional companies tend to have the highest concentration of employment for sociology major graduates.Oracle and North Shore Healthcare are the highest paying companies.Companies like Sutter Health and ICF also pay high salaries to sociology major graduates.

Average salary by company

Rank	Company	Zippia score	Average sociology salary
1	1.Oracle	4.6	$59,803
2	2.North Shore Healthcare	4.2	$53,626
3	3.Sutter Health	4.8	$51,025
4	4.ICF	4.5	$50,815
5	5.Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company	4.5	$49,713
6	6.Mohawk Valley Health System	4.6	$49,411
7	7.Encompass Health	4.1	$49,359
8	8.Mission Regional Medical Center	4.8	$48,512
9	9.Catholic Health East	3.8	$48,332
10	10.Cedars-Sinai	4.8	$47,733
11	11.Prime Healthcare	4.7	$47,303
12	12.Accountable Healthcare Holdings Corp.	4.7	$47,153
13	13.Tenet Healthcare	4.5	$46,748
14	14.Bank of America	4.7	$46,720
15	15.U.S. Bank	4.6	$46,219
16	16.U.S. Census Bureau	4.3	$46,148
17	17.Life Care Centers of America	4.5	$46,134
18	18.Wells Fargo	4.6	$46,006
19	19.Hackensack Meridian Health	4.5	$45,542
20	20.Novant Health	4.2	$45,513

Average sociology major salary by city

Sociology major graduates in the United States of America make on average $40,376 a year or $19.41 per hour.San Francisco, CA reports the highest salaries for sociology major graduates at $49,248 per year.Not only that, San Francisco, CA also has an average entry-level salary of $24,000.Other top cities with competitive salaries are Washington, DC, New York, NY, Boston, MA, Seattle, WA, Providence, RI, and Baltimore, MD.California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Massachusetts are the highest paying states.Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Oklahoma are at the bottom for competitive pay.

Average salary by location

Rank	City	Average sociology salary	Salary range
1	San Francisco, CA	$49,248	$26k $70k
2	Washington, DC	$46,907	$26k $70k
3	New York, NY	$46,423	$26k $70k
4	Boston, MA	$44,671	$26k $70k
5	Seattle, WA	$44,153	$26k $70k
6	Providence, RI	$42,881	$26k $70k
7	Baltimore, MD	$42,373	$26k $70k
8	Albany, OR	$42,316	$26k $70k
9	Chicago, IL	$40,925	$26k $70k
10	Las Vegas, NV	$40,733	$26k $70k
11	Philadelphia, PA	$40,631	$26k $70k
12	Saint Paul, MN	$40,258	$26k $70k
13	Portland, ME	$40,021	$26k $70k
14	Richmond, VA	$39,924	$26k $70k
15	Detroit, MI	$39,284	$26k $70k
16	Milwaukee, WI	$38,854	$26k $70k
17	Cleveland, OH	$38,729	$26k $70k
18	Denver, CO	$38,653	$26k $70k
19	Phoenix, AZ	$38,159	$26k $70k
20	San Antonio, TX	$37,785	$26k $70k

Average sociology major salary by state

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

Average salary

Sociology major average salary by state

State	Average sociology major salary	Average hourly rate
California	$47,365	$22.77
New York	$46,574	$22.39
Connecticut	$45,830	$22.03
New Jersey	$45,108	$21.69
Massachusetts	$44,811	$21.54
Washington	$44,024	$21.17
Alaska	$43,420	$20.88
Rhode Island	$43,071	$20.71
Oregon	$42,227	$20.30
Maryland	$42,219	$20.30
Hawaii	$41,731	$20.06
New Hampshire	$41,500	$19.95
Nevada	$40,902	$19.66
Illinois	$40,796	$19.61
Vermont	$40,624	$19.53
Delaware	$40,483	$19.46
Pennsylvania	$40,430	$19.44
Minnesota	$40,380	$19.41
Virginia	$40,324	$19.39
North Dakota	$39,950	$19.21
Maine	$39,872	$19.17
Michigan	$39,293	$18.89
Wisconsin	$38,840	$18.67
Colorado	$38,697	$18.60
Arizona	$38,199	$18.36
Ohio	$37,824	$18.18
Texas	$37,491	$18.02
West Virginia	$37,159	$17.86
Wyoming	$36,705	$17.65
Idaho	$36,674	$17.63
North Carolina	$36,624	$17.61
New Mexico	$36,469	$17.53
Iowa	$36,222	$17.41
Utah	$35,934	$17.28
Georgia	$35,790	$17.21
Nebraska	$35,570	$17.10
Kansas	$35,248	$16.95
Indiana	$35,143	$16.90
Missouri	$35,122	$16.89
Montana	$35,073	$16.86
Kentucky	$34,835	$16.75
Tennessee	$34,804	$16.73
Florida	$34,709	$16.69
South Dakota	$34,483	$16.58
Alabama	$34,110	$16.40
Louisiana	$34,075	$16.38
Mississippi	$33,827	$16.26
South Carolina	$33,698	$16.20
Oklahoma	$33,632	$16.17
Arkansas	$32,879	$15.81

Highest paying jobs for sociology majors

Rank	Job title	Average salary	Open jobs
1	Data Scientist	$106,104	106,973
2	User Experience Researcher	$99,848	24,148
3	User Experience Designer	$91,159	52,582
4	Behavioral Scientist	$84,521	45,246
5	Training Specialist	$77,231	61,581
6	Business Analyst	$74,430	170,514
7	Data Analyst	$74,342	167,520
8	Reporting Analyst	$73,478	87,731
9	Analyst	$73,007	253,138
10	Investigator	$71,405	5,085
11	Research Analyst	$70,231	81,374
12	Finance Analyst	$69,887	138,600
13	Account Executive	$69,618	205,561
14	Human Resources Analyst	$69,000	90,211
15	Pharmaceutical Sales Representative	$68,570	102,935
16	Researcher	$67,145	30,498
17	Policy Analyst	$66,358	69,173
18	Operations Analyst	$63,082	141,707
19	Underwriter	$61,750	8,510
20	Research Associate	$60,166	63,884

Average sociology major salary by industry

The type of industry that a sociology major graduate works in can influence their earning potential.By looking at our data, we can see that education companies, government companies, and health care companies pay sociology major graduates well.Salaries for sociology major graduates in education companies average $39,430 annually, while government companies and health care companies pay $36,653 and $36,277, respectively.The types of companies that pay sociology majors the least are in the technology industry, where the average annual salary is $33,330.

Average salary by industry

Rank	Industry	Average sociology major salary	Range
1	Education	$39,430	$27k $49k
2	Government	$36,653	$27k $49k
3	Health Care	$36,277	$27k $49k
4	Insurance	$34,985	$27k $49k
5	Manufacturing	$34,832	$27k $49k
6	Finance	$34,725	$27k $49k
7	Professional	$34,079	$27k $49k
8	Telecommunication	$33,788	$27k $49k
9	Retail	$33,383	$27k $49k
10	Technology	$33,330	$27k $49k

Salary history for sociology major graduates

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

Salaries for related majors

Rank	Major	Average salary	Range
1	Economics	$71,876	$34k $103k
2	International Relations	$60,634	$34k $103k
3	Geography	$60,412	$34k $103k
4	Sociology And Anthropology	$57,070	$34k $103k
5	Political Science	$52,859	$34k $103k
6	Urban Studies	$49,227	$34k $103k
7	Anthropology	$46,800	$34k $103k
8	Criminology	$46,597	$34k $103k
9	Social Sciences	$42,879	$34k $103k