American Community Survey Reports - ACS-59 - Field of Degree Highlights and Earnings in 2022

Oct 15, 2026

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Report analyzing fields of bachelor’s degrees in the United States using the 2022 ACS 1-year dataset. It explains how field of degree varies by social, demographic, and geographic characteristics, and summarizes median annual earnings differences by field. The report describes ACS coding of field of degree, presents five most common majors in 2022, highlights gender patterns across engineering and other fields, and compares earnings levels by race, Hispanic origin, and metropolitan area.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages31

Reading Time1 h 18 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Field of Degree Data

Highlights

Field of Degree in the United States

FUienildtefSBtaachtese: lor’s2022D1egree in the American Community Survey Reports By Kevin McElrath ACS-59 July 2025 INTRODUCTION According to the American Community Survey (ACS), 35.7 percent of adults aged 25 and over had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2022. As more individuals obtain bachelor’s degrees, it is important to understand differences in the types of degrees that people have. The field of degree (FOD) that individuals obtain affects the occupation they pursue, the economic returns they can anticipate from obtaining their degree, and even where they choose to live. This report examines fields of bachelor’s degree in the United States using the 2022 ACS 1-year dataset.2 It explains how field of degree varies by social, demographic, and geographic characteristics and differences in median annual earnings by field of degree. The ACS first collected data on field of bachelor’s degree in 2009. Respondents with a bachelor’s degree or higher were asked to write in the specific field(s) for the bachelor’s degree they earned.3 Fields of degree are grouped in two ways in this report based on similarities among degree. First, a broad 1 The U. S. Census Bureau has reviewed this data product to ensure appropriate access, use, and disclosure avoidance protection of the confidential source data used to produce this product. Data Management System number: P-7533599 and Disclosure Review Board approval number: CBDRB-FY25-SEHSD003-011 . 2 “Field of bachelor’s degree” refers to the specialized area of study (also referred to as majors) in which a bachelor’s degree was awarded. It does not refer to type of bachelor’s degree, such as bachelor’s of science or arts. 3 Respondents can provide more than one field of degree on the ACS, and up to four of these majors are coded to a specific degree. This report focuses only on the first degree listed. FIELD OF DEGREE DATA The U. S. Census Bureau codes field of degree write-in responses into 191 unique fields of degree. These codes aim to align with the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes that were developed and released by the Department of Education in conjunction with higher education institutions. The number of fields of degree has been the same since 2010. Updates are made when discrete fields of study are identified that have enough degree holders. group of fields of degree with the categories: science and engineering; science-and engineering-related fields; business; education; and arts, humanities, and other.4 In addition to these broader categories, thereport also presents a more detailed breakdown of the 30 most common individual fields of degree (e.g., sociology), with the remaining fields collapsed into four subject-based “other” categories (e.g., other science and engineering degrees) . HIGHLIGHTS • The five most common fields of degree in 2022 among the population aged 25 and over were business management and administration (4 .8 million), psychology (3 .7 million), general business (3 .7 million), nursing (3 .6 million), and general education (3 .1 million) . 4 Some examples of science-and engineering-related fields include nursing, science teacher education, and computer programming. • Fields of degree in engineering and its subfields (general, civil, electric, and mechanical), computer science, finance, and economics were populated disproportionately by men (67–90 percent) . In contrast, 71–92 percent of people who held degrees in psychology, education (general and elementary), social work, nursing, and family and consumer sciences were women. • The percentage of people with fields of degree in science and engineering varied across both states and metropolitan areas. Washington was the state with the highest rate at 43.8 percent, and San Francisco had the highest rate among the 30 largest metropolitan areas covered in this report, at 44.3 percent. • The field of degree with the highest median annual earnings was elect

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the report on fields of bachelor’s degrees?

To examine how fields of bachelor’s degrees in the United States vary across social, demographic, and geographic characteristics and how median annual earnings differ by field of degree.

How does the report define “field of bachelor’s degree”?

It refers to the specialized area of study (major) in which a bachelor’s degree was awarded, not the type of bachelor’s degree such as arts or science.

Which field of degree had the highest and lowest median annual earnings in 2022?

Electrical engineering had the highest median annual earnings ($121,600), while family and consumer sciences had the lowest ($52,850).

How do earnings patterns differ for people with degrees in the same field?

Median annual earnings within the same field vary by race and Hispanic origin, and also vary across metropolitan areas, with examples comparing San Francisco to Las Vegas and national levels.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Melati