Food Science

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Total Degrees​
Awarded in 2023
1,552
declining 5.88%
Median In-State​
Public Tuition
$9,309
growing 0.66%
Median Out-of-State​
Private Tuition
$49,607
growing 1.95%
Average Wage
$88,832
growing 3.92%
People in Workforce
577,672
growing 2.55%
Average Employee Age
43.9
declining 0.286%

About

In 2023, the locations with the highest concentration of Food Science degree recipients are Champaign, IL, East Lansing, MI, and Ithaca, NY. In 2023, the locations with a relatively high number of Food Science degree recipients are Longmeadow, MA, New Britain, PA, and Manhattan, KS. The most common degree awarded to students studying Food Science is a bachelors degree.

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Food Science and the types of students that study this field. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign awards the most degrees in Food Science in the US, but Alabama A & M University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Food Science.

Tuition costs for Food Science majors are, on average, $9,309 for in-state public colleges, and $49,607 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Food Science programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (58 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (1,341 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Food Science (2023)
  1. 129 degrees awarded
  2. 91 degrees awarded
  3. 90 degrees awarded

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Food Science, is Public, 4-year or above (1,341 completions in 2023).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Food Science programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

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Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$9,309
Median In-State Public
$49,607
Median Out of State Private

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has the most Food Science degree recipients, with 129 degrees awarded in 2023.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Food Science.

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Specialized Colleges

Out of all institutions that offer Food Science programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Alabama A & M University has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Food Science, with 2.19%.

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Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Food Science
  1. 129 degrees awarded
  2. 91 degrees awarded
  3. 90 degrees awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Food Science by year.

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Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Agriculture graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Agriculture majors is $88,832 and the most common occupations are Farmers, ranchers, & other agricultural managers, Other managers, and Veterinarians.

The industry that employs the most Agriculture majors is uninformed, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Miscellaneous nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.
$88,832
Average Wage in Workforce
± $2,846
3.92%
1 Year Growth
± 4.38%

The average salary for Agriculture majors is $88,832 and the most common occupations are Farmers, ranchers, & other agricultural managers, Other managers, and Veterinarians.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Agriculture majors.

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Highest Paying Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Agriculture majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Agriculture majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.

The most common occupations for Agriculture majors, by number of employees, are Farmers, ranchers, & other agricultural managers, Other managers, and Veterinarians.

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Most Specialized

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Agriculture majors working as Agricultural & food scientists, Veterinarians, and Agricultural inspectors.

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Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.

The highest paid occupations by median income for Agriculture majors are Surgeons, Cardiovascular technologists and technicians, and Physicians.

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Occupations by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.
577,672
2023 Workforce
± 18,625
2.55%
1 Year Growth
± 4.47%

The number of Agriculture graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.55%, from 563,289 in 2022 to 577,672 in 2023.

The largest single share of Agriculture graduates go on to work as Farmers, ranchers, & other agricultural managers (5.15%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Agriculture by share of the total number of graduates.

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Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.

The most common industries that employ Agriculture majors, by number of employees, are uninformed, Farming, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.

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Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.
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Industries by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.
577,672
2023 Workforce
± 18,625
2.55%
1 Year Growth
± 4.47%

The number of Agriculture graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.55%, from 563,289 in 2022 to 577,672 in 2023.

The industry which employs the most Agriculture graduates by share is uninformed, followed by Farming. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Agriculture.

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Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Agriculture majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Agriculture majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Agriculture in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Agriculture is 43.9.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Agriculture degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Agriculture (772 students).

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.
43.9
Average Age in 2023
± 0.461 Years
0.286%
1 Year Change
± 1.5%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Agriculture. The most common ages of employees with this major are 28 and 27 years old, which represent 2.86% and 2.83% of the population, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Food Science are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Research Doctorate.

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Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.

The most common degree types held by the working population in Agriculture are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.

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Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Female (67.8%)
Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Food Science.

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Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity
  1. White
    772 degrees awarded
  2. Non-resident Alien
    362 degrees awarded
  3. Asian
    141 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Food Science for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

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Race & Ethnicity by Sex

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination
  1. White Female
    367 degrees awarded
  2. White Male
    154 degrees awarded
  3. Non-resident Alien Female
    69 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Food Science.

White Female students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

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Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Food Science is from the 2 Digit Course Agriculture.
Most Common Countries of Origin
  1. Mexico
    7,703 degree recipients
  2. China
    6,727 degree recipients
  3. India
    6,530 degree recipients
High Relative Number of Students
  1. Northern Ireland
    9.84 times more than expected
  2. Uganda
    5.23 times more than expected
  3. Kyrgyzstan
    4.52 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Northern Ireland that hold Agriculture degrees (9.84 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 Mexico (7,703 degree recipients).

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Food Science field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Food Science majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Food Science majors need more than the average amount of Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, and Quality Control Analysis.

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 Food Science 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 Equipment Maintenance is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Speaking are the three most important skills for people in the field.

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Bar Chart

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