History
History
Median earnings by degree level
| Degree | Median earnings | Typical range | Schools | Clear the bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's Degree | $49,972 | $45,198 to $55,468 | 459 | 94% |
| Master's Degree | $54,943 | $48,787 to $63,996 | 37 | 97% |
| Doctoral Degree | $72,601 | $69,951 to $82,537 | 8 | 100% |
"Clear the bar" is the share of programs whose graduates out-earn a typical high-school graduate (the federal earnings-premium test). Typical range is the 25th to 75th percentile of program medians.
Job outlook
Projected employment growth +4% (2025 to 2035), about 179,700 openings a year across the occupations this field commonly leads to.
| Occupation | Median pay | Growth | Openings/yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Managers, All Other | $141,900 | +4.9% | 100,900 |
| Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | $72,040 | -0.2% | 63,500 |
| Natural Sciences Managers | $167,220 | +8.2% | 9,200 |
| Curators | $63,420 | +4.9% | 1,600 |
| Museum Technicians and Conservators | $51,440 | +3.6% | 1,600 |
| History Teachers, Postsecondary | $83,820 | +0% | 1,500 |
Occupation pay and outlook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wages, Employment Projections). A field maps to several occupations, and the same occupations serve many majors, so these are the jobs this major commonly leads to, not positions reserved for its graduates; the openings should not be added up across majors.
Where this is studied
The 8 colleges where the most students complete a history program, of 1,366 that report one. Ordered by number of completions only: this is where people study it, not a judgement about where to.
- Southern New Hampshire University
- Liberty University
- American Public University System
- Arizona State University Digital Immersion
- University of California-Los Angeles
- Harvard University
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Columbia University in the City of New York
Earnings source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (release 2026-06-10), median earnings of graduates measured up to four years after completing. Figures describe past graduates and are never a promise. Method: methodology. Report an error.