Earnings, Occupation, and College Degree: A Focus on the Economics Major

Publication Date

1-1-2026

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Economic Education

Volume

57

Issue

3

DOI

10.1080/00220485.2026.2666059

First Page

326

Last Page

334

Abstract

Using American Community Survey microdata, the authors of this study explore college graduates’ occupations by major, focusing on the economics major. They identify the most common occupations for mid-career workers whose highest degree is a bachelor’s degree and report median income by occupation. They also study industries where economics majors are employed and find 54.6 percent work in one of four industries: finance and insurance; professional, scientific, and technical services; manufacturing; and retail trade. Finally, they replicate and extend previous findings on average earnings by major and confirm that economics is a top-10 high-earning major, with one of the highest self-employment rates among all majors, and that rankings by average income are insensitive to whether income is measured using total income or wage income alone.

Keywords

Careers in economics, college major, earnings, industries, occupations

Department

Economics

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