African Americans
College Majors and Earnings
Earnings vary greatly among college majors. While college access has increased among African Americans, they are overrepresented in majors that lead to low-paying jobs. African Americans: College Majors and Earnings shows that African Americans, 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 African American degree holders among the 137 detailed major groups. Find out what the 10 highest and lowest earnings were by major.
Interactive Tool
Blacks’ 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
