African Americans
College Majors and Earnings
Earnings vary greatly among college majors. While college access has increased among Black/African American individuals, they are overrepresented in majors that lead to low-paying jobs. African Americans: College Majors and Earnings shows that Black/African American individuals, who represent 12 percent of the U.S. population, are underrepresented in the number of college majors associated with the fastest growing, highest-paying occupations.
Key Findings
Infographic
View and download our infographic, which illustrates the prevalence of Black/African American degree holders among the 137 detailed major groups. Find out what the 10 highest and lowest earnings were by major.
Interactive Tool
Black/African American Individuals Earnings by College Major: Explore the data on Blacks’ earnings by major and detailed field of study.
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce analysis of American Community Survey, 2009–2016 (pooled) of bachelor’s degree holders without advanced degrees, age 25-59 working full-time full-year.
Video
Watch this video to get a snapshot of the report findings.
Resources
Despite the increase in college access among African Americans, African Americans are highly concentrated in low-paying majors. African Americans: College Majors and Earningsanalyzes 137 detailed majors among African Americans to find that:
- African Americans only account for 8 percent of general engineering majors, 7 percent of mathematics majors, and 5 percent of computer majors
- Law and public policy is the top major group for African Americans with a Bachelor’s degree
- The highest concentrated detailed major among African Americans is in health and medical administration
- The second lowest-paying major among African American is in human services and community organization with median earnings at $39,000
