The Lowest-Paying College Degrees in America, Ranked

Earning a college degree can help you build a successful career and earn a healthy living, but the sad reality is some degrees don't have the same payoffs.

The good news is a college degree can help you earn more money overall. In the first quarter of 2026, for example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found the median weekly income of a college graduate to be more than $1,700 compared to just less than a $1,000 for high school graduates.

20 College Degrees With the Lowest Mid-Career Median Wages

But some degrees don't have a great track record when it comes to how much you can make once you're done with college. And in fact, when it comes to fields like education, finishing college may not lead to a high-paying job. Here's how much you can expect to get paid in the middle of your career with these college degrees, as reported by Visual Capitalist.

Unfortunately, degrees in education don’t always come with a big paycheck when measuring the mid-career median wage. Early childhood education majors, for example, make $52,000 in yearly median wages, according to data from the New York Federal Reserve.

Other areas of education such as elementary education, special education, and secondary education don't fare much better. The top five lowest-paying college degrees are all in education, and all of them pay a median annual wage of $60,000 or less.

Social science degrees are next on the list. Degrees in fields like social services and family and consumer services translate to jobs that make less than $65,000 in median income each year.

These social science degrees also include fields that study and analyze the human experience. Anthropology majors, who study human culture and history, can only expect to earn $65,000 by the time they reach the middle of their careers. Theology and religion majors, who study religious practices, will make around the same amount annually.

Other Majors That Don’t Fare Well

Educators aren't the only ones who don't make as much after spending money on a college degree. Students who get a college degree in subjects such as health services, nutrition sciences, and treatment therapy can expect to earn around $70,000 a year in median income by the time they reach the middle of their career.

Despite that, positions in healthcare are predicted to grow, which could help graduates who major in these fields. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the number of healthcare jobs to grow much faster than the average for all occupations in the United States. It estimates that around 1.9 million healthcare positions will open up each year as the field grows and there's an increased need to replace workers who retire from healthcare positions.

What About the Highest-Paid Majors?

While education majors might struggle to get a big paycheck with their college degrees, engineering majors don't have the same problem.

Degrees in chemical engineering, computer engineering, and aerospace engineering can lead to jobs that make more than $130,000 a year, while electrical and mechanical engineers earn around $120,000 a year.

It also helps that engineers also make some of the highest starting salaries out of college. Engineering majors can earn up $75,000 to $90,000 in the early years of their careers, depending on their type of engineering specialization.

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