Research · Majors and pay · October 2026
The Best-Paying College Majors Four Years After Graduation, by Federal Data
As of October 2026: Four years after finishing a bachelor's degree, computer engineering graduates earned a median of $106,431, the most of any widely reported major in the federal program-level data, followed by computer science at $100,650 and electrical engineering at $98,871. Registered nursing is the largest field on the list by graduate count, with 111,384 graduates in the cohort and a median of $84,759.
The table holds the highest-paying bachelor's majors in the federal file, with the median earnings four years out, how many colleges report the program and how many graduates are in the cohort. It is a national median, not a figure for any one college.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Engineering and computing take nearly every top spot. Computer Engineering leads at $106,431. Computer Science is next at $100,650. Then come electrical engineering at $98,871, chemical engineering at $97,202 and industrial engineering at $97,118. Aerospace engineering follows at $96,510. The pattern holds the whole way down the table.
Construction and applied math pay like engineering. Applied Mathematics earned a median of $94,261 across 44 colleges. Construction Management earned $93,431 across 53 colleges. Construction Engineering Technology earned $92,567 across 41. All three pay more than Mechanical Engineering at $91,028 and Civil Engineering at $85,202, which are far more common degrees.
A common major can pay well, and a rare one can pay more. Registered Nursing is reported by 714 colleges and had 111,384 graduates in the cohort at a median of $84,759. Materials Engineering is reported by 34 colleges and had 1,102 graduates at $91,799. The ranking says nothing about how many seats exist. A major taught at a few colleges is a different kind of plan than nursing.
The best-paying bachelor's majors, median earnings four years out
Median earnings four years after completing the program, across the colleges that report it.
| Major | Median earnings, 4 years out | Colleges reporting | Graduates in cohort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Engineering | $106,431 | 181 | 10,664 |
| Computer Science | $100,650 | 327 | 34,391 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | $98,871 | 251 | 14,718 |
| Chemical Engineering | $97,202 | 154 | 9,078 |
| Industrial Engineering | $97,118 | 90 | 5,173 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering | $96,510 | 59 | 5,616 |
| Applied Mathematics | $94,261 | 44 | 3,007 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering | $94,168 | 117 | 7,150 |
| Construction Management | $93,431 | 53 | 2,375 |
| Construction Engineering Technology/Technician | $92,567 | 41 | 2,238 |
| Materials Engineering | $91,799 | 34 | 1,102 |
| Engineering-Related Fields | $91,664 | 30 | 1,278 |
| Mechanical Engineering | $91,028 | 309 | 33,901 |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management | $89,130 | 62 | 3,841 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | $88,377 | 388 | 32,062 |
| Engineering, General | $88,063 | 54 | 1,511 |
| Statistics | $87,334 | 50 | 3,646 |
| Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians | $87,022 | 33 | 762 |
| Civil Engineering | $85,202 | 227 | 13,746 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $84,759 | 714 | 111,384 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | $84,313 | 125 | 8,664 |
| Information Science/Studies | $82,529 | 113 | 6,317 |
| Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians | $81,765 | 55 | 2,175 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering | $81,659 | 46 | 1,205 |
| Management Information Systems and Services | $81,608 | 144 | 6,530 |
Bachelor's programs in the federal College Scorecard's program-level earnings file. Each row is the median across the colleges that report that program, and a major is ranked only when many colleges report it -- the smallest count in the table is 30 colleges -- so rare programs are missing. Earnings are measured four years after a student completed the program, not at hiring. They travel with the students a program admits and the work those students go into as much as with the program itself. Rows are ranked by median earnings, highest first.
What this number is
This is the median pay of people who finished that bachelor's program. It is measured four years after they finished. The source is the federal College Scorecard, which reports pay program by program.
A major gets a figure here only when enough colleges report it. The file holds 131 bachelor's majors that clear that bar. The table shows the highest-paying of them.
Median means half earned more and half earned less. It is not a starting salary and it is not a ceiling. It also travels with the students a program admits and the work they go into. The same major at two colleges can pay very differently.
What the table does not say
It does not say the major caused the pay. Computer Engineering draws students who were already strong in math. Its graduates cluster in a few high-wage industries. Change the student or the industry and the number changes.
It also leaves majors out. A program that only a handful of colleges report is not here, even if it pays well. So this is a list of the best-paying common majors, not of every well-paying major. The pay also comes from one group of graduates at one moment. A field in a hiring slump can look stronger here than it feels now.
What a family should do with this
Use the table to set the scale, not to pick a major. The distance between the top of this list and a typical bachelor's degree is large enough to change a family budget. The distance between Computer Engineering at $106,431 and Mechanical Engineering at $91,028 is not.
Then look at the college. Our college outcomes pages break the same federal file out by college and program. That is the number that fits a real plan. Pair it with four years of cost at that college, because pay minus cost is what a family keeps.
And check the door before the pay. A major that pays well is no help if the campus does not admit into it. Nursing and computer science are among the tightest doors in California, and our major pages carry the admit rate campus by campus.
Questions parents ask
Which college major pays the most?
Computer Engineering leads at $106,431. Computer Science is next at $100,650.
What does a nursing degree pay four years out?
Registered Nursing is reported by 714 colleges and had 111,384 graduates in the cohort at a median of $84,759.
Is this what the major pays at every college?
It also travels with the students a program admits and the work they go into. The same major at two colleges can pay very differently.
Method & sources: The figures come from the federal College Scorecard's program-level earnings file for bachelor's programs, which reports median earnings four years after a student completed the program. A major's figure here is the median of the college-level medians for that program, and a major is ranked only when a large number of colleges report it; the smallest count in the table is 30 colleges. The federal file suppresses programs with too few graduates to report, so high-paying programs offered at only a few colleges are missing rather than low. Rows are ranked by median earnings, highest first.
This brief as data: /research/best-paying-majors-four-years-out.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
Related: Computer engineering: where to study it and what it pays · Nursing: admit rate by campus and what the degree pays · What the most common majors pay four years out · College outcomes by college and program