Loading History…
In 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of History degree recipients are New York, NY, Lynchburg, VA, and Los Angeles, CA. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of History degree recipients are Gettysburg, PA, Hillsdale, MI, and Hampden-Sydney, VA. The most common degree awarded to students studying History is a bachelors degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in History and the types of students that study this field. Liberty University awards the most degrees in History in the US, but Center for Advanced Studies On Puerto Rico and the Caribbean and Gettysburg College have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in History.
Tuition costs for History majors are, on average, $7,704 for in-state public colleges, and $38,400 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers History programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (749 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (19,007 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in History, is Public, 4-year or above (19,007 completions in 2024).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer History programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
Liberty University has the most History degree recipients, with 567 degrees awarded in 2024.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in History.
Out of all institutions that offer History programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Center for Advanced Studies On Puerto Rico and the Caribbean has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in History, with 47.5%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in History by year.
Information on the businesses and industries that employ History graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.
The average salary for History majors is $112,593 and the most common occupations are Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Secondary school teachers.
The industry that employs the most History majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Pipeline transportation.
The average salary for History majors is $112,593 and the most common occupations are Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Secondary school teachers.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for History majors.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of History majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that History majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
The most common occupations for History majors, by number of employees, are Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Secondary school teachers.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of History majors working as Archivists, curators, & museum technicians, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Judicial law clerks.
The highest paid occupations by median income for History majors are Surgeons, Magnetic resonance imaging technologists, and Diagnostic medical sonographers.
The number of History graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 1.7%, from 1.1M in 2023 to 1.12M in 2024.
The largest single share of History graduates go on to work as Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers (9.09%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in History by share of the total number of graduates.
The most common industries that employ History majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Legal services.
The highest paying industries of History majors, by average wage, are Pipeline transportation, Commercial & service industry machinery manufacturing, and Cutlery & hand tool manufacturing.
The number of History graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 1.7%, from 1.1M in 2023 to 1.12M in 2024.
The industry which employs the most History graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in History.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of History majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that History majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in History. The most common ages of employees with this major are 36 and 38 years old, which represent 3.11% and 2.98% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in History are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
The most common degree types held by the working population in History are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.
This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in History.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in History for each race & ethnicity.
In 2024, White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.
This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in History.
White Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.
There are a relatively high number of people that were born in St. Kitts-Nevis that hold History degrees (8.33 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (9,728 degree recipients).
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the History field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. History majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that History majors need more than the average amount of Writing, Reading Comprehension, and Active Learning.
These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for History majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Writing is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Critical Thinking are the three most important skills for people in the field.
Photo by Kazuhisa Togo