Biology
Contains Stem Majors
Add ComparisonIn 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of Biology degree recipients are New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, and San Diego, CA. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of Biology degree recipients are Carpinteria, CA, Holly Springs, MS, and East Whittier, CA. The most common degree awarded to students studying Biology is a bachelors degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Biology and the types of students that study this field. University of California-San Diego awards the most degrees in Biology in the US, but The Rockefeller University and Ponce Health Sciences University-St Louis have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Biology.
Tuition costs for Biology majors are, on average, $9,286 for in-state public colleges, and $44,620 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Biology programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (882 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (117,063 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Biology, is Public, 4-year or above (117,063 completions in 2024).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Biology programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
University of California-San Diego has the most Biology degree recipients, with 2,152 degrees awarded in 2024.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Biology.
Out of all institutions that offer Biology programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, The Rockefeller University has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Biology, with 100%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Biology by year.
Information on the businesses and industries that employ Biology graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.
The average salary for Biology majors is $127,420 and the most common occupations are Physicians, Postsecondary teachers, and Other Physical Scientists.
The industry that employs the most Biology majors is General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Offices of physicians.
The average salary for Biology majors is $127,420 and the most common occupations are Physicians, Postsecondary teachers, and Other Physical Scientists.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Biology majors.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Biology majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Biology 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 Biology majors, by number of employees, are Physicians, Postsecondary teachers, and Other Physical Scientists.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Biology majors working as Podiatrists, Biological scientists, and Optometrists.
The highest paid occupations by median income for Biology majors are Surgeons, Physicians, and Chief executives & legislators.
The number of Biology graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.87%, from 3.11M in 2023 to 3.23M in 2024.
The largest single share of Biology graduates go on to work as Physicians (13.7%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Biology by share of the total number of graduates.
The most common industries that employ Biology majors, by number of employees, are General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Offices of physicians.
The highest paying industries of Biology majors, by average wage, are Offices of physicians, Paper & paper products merchant wholesalers, and Furniture & home furnishing merchant wholesalers.
The number of Biology graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.87%, from 3.11M in 2023 to 3.23M in 2024.
The industry which employs the most Biology graduates by share is General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Biology.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Biology majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Biology 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 Biology. The most common ages of employees with this major are 30 and 29 years old, which represent 3.54% and 3.39% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Biology are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Research Doctorate.
The most common degree types held by the working population in Biology are Bachelors Degree, Professional degree, and Masters Degree.
This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Biology.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Biology 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 Biology.
White Female 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 United Arab Emirates that hold Biology degrees (3.29 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 (99,261 degree recipients).
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Biology field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Biology majors need many skills, but most especially Science. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Biology majors need more than the average amount of Programming, Science, and Mathematics.
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 Biology 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 Programming is very distinctive for majors, but the Science, Reading Comprehension, and Writing are the three most important skills for people in the field.