The Highest-Paying Business Majors

Graduates who major in business analytics earn the most ($66,000 on average per year) early on in their careers. For mid-career wages, finance and economics are the top earners ($100,000 on average per year), according to new data released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

WORST-EARNING BUSINESS MAJORS

Among business majors, business management and communications earned the lowest starting and mid salaries. Business management grads, on average, earned $46,000 early career, while communications grads, on average, pulled in $47,000. Both earned $75,000 by mid-career.

METHODOLOGY

The Federal Reserve used 2021 data from the U.S. Census Bureau to determine unemployment and underemployment rates for recent college grads aged 22 to 27 with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Underemployment is defined as “a measure of employment and labor utilization in the economy that looks at how well the labor force is being used in terms of skills, experience, and availability to work.”

Median wage data was calculated for full-time workers with a bachelor's degree only. Early career graduates are those aged 22 to 27, and mid-career graduates are those aged 35 to 45.

ENGINEERING MAJORS MAKE THE MOST OVERALL

If you’re looking to make a high salary, you should probably consider majoring in an engineering field. Engineering grads landed the highest salaries—across both early and mid-career—with chemical engineering grads holding the highest salary at $75,000 early-career and $120,000 mid-career.

Sources: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, CNBC, Investopedia

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