Building wealth in the humanities: the latest statistics on Humanities earnings. From the review:

  • In 2018, terminal bachelor’s degree holders (TBHs) in the humanities had annual median earnings of $58K, while the median for all workers with a terminal bachelor’s degree was $63K (Indicator III-06a). Median earnings for humanities TBHs were 66% higher than those of workers with only a high school diploma ($35K).
  • Among men whose highest degree was a bachelor’s, median earnings for humanities majors were $63K, which was most similar to that of majors in behavioral/social sciences or life sciences. The humanities male median was 69% of the median for male engineering TBHs (the group with the highest median earnings) and 86% of the median for all male TBHs.
  • Like their male counterparts, the median earnings of female humanities TBHs ($53K) were most similar to those of life sciences and behavioral/social science TBHs. The humanities median for women was 70% of that for the highest-paid women with terminal bachelor’s degrees (those who majored in engineering). Women’s median earnings were closer than men’s to the gender-specific median for all fields combined, with the female humanities median being 98% of that for all women with terminal bachelor’s degrees.
  • At 16%, the gender earnings gap experienced by TBHs in the humanities fell near the middle of the range found among the major academic fields.

 

  • In 2018, 41% of humanities majors possessed at least one advanced degree. Median annual full-time earnings for humanities majors holding an advanced degree in any field were $78K, compared to $86K for advanced degree holders generally (Indicator III-07a).
  • Male humanities advanced degree holders (ADHs) reported annual median earnings of $91K, as compared to $71K among their female counterparts.
  • The median earnings for male ADHs who had majored in the humanities were most similar to those of behavioral/social science and business majors who obtained an advanced degree, though these workers’ median earnings were still $10K higher. The median earnings of male humanities ADHs were 75% of those of male engineering and life sciences ADHs, the highest-earning groups, and 90% of the median earnings of all male ADHs.
  • Female humanities ADHs made 72% of what female engineering ADHs did (engineering majors were the top earners among women), but their median earnings were virtually the same as all female ADHs considered together. The median earnings of female ADHs with humanities degrees were most similar—equal, in fact—to those of female behavioral/social sciences majors who later earned advanced degrees.
  • The gender earnings gap for humanities ADHs was 22%, compared to 29% among ADHs generally.

 

The Advanced Degree statistics site can be found here.

For other posts by Humanities Indicators, see here.