General Social Sciences
Add ComparisonIn 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of General Social Sciences degree recipients are Monterey Park, CA, Rocklin, CA, and Santa Clarita, CA. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of General Social Sciences degree recipients are The University of Virginia's College at Wise, VA, Bard College, NY, and Woodland, CA. The most common degree awarded to students studying General Social Sciences is a associates degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in General Social Sciences and the types of students that study this field. East Los Angeles College awards the most degrees in General Social Sciences in the US, but Ohlone College and University of Virginia's College at Wise have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in General Social Sciences.
Tuition costs for General Social Sciences majors are, on average, $7,272 for in-state public colleges, and $36,200 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers General Social Sciences programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (190 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 2-year (8,565 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in General Social Sciences, is Public, 2-year (8,565 completions in 2024).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer General Social Sciences programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
East Los Angeles College has the most General Social Sciences degree recipients, with 952 degrees awarded in 2024.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in General Social Sciences.
Out of all institutions that offer General Social Sciences programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Ohlone College has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in General Social Sciences, with 31.1%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in General Social Sciences by year.
Information on the businesses and industries that employ Social Sciences graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.
The average salary for Social Sciences majors is $121,427 and the most common occupations are Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, Other managers, and Chief executives & legislators.
The industry that employs the most Social Sciences majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Prefabricated wood buildings & mobile homes.
The average salary for Social Sciences majors is $121,427 and the most common occupations are Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, Other managers, and Chief executives & legislators.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Social Sciences majors.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Social Sciences majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Social Sciences 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 Social Sciences majors, by number of employees, are Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, Other managers, and Chief executives & legislators.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Social Sciences majors working as Economists, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Judicial law clerks.
The highest paid occupations by median income for Social Sciences majors are Surgeons, Securities, commodities, & financial services sales agents, and Magnetic resonance imaging technologists.
The number of Social Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.26%, from 4.18M in 2023 to 4.28M in 2024.
The largest single share of Social Sciences graduates go on to work as Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers (7.92%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Social Sciences by share of the total number of graduates.
The most common industries that employ Social Sciences majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Legal services, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.
The highest paying industries of Social Sciences majors, by average wage, are Prefabricated wood buildings & mobile homes, Metal ore mining, and Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals.
The number of Social Sciences graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.26%, from 4.18M in 2023 to 4.28M in 2024.
The industry which employs the most Social Sciences graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools, followed by Legal services. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Social Sciences.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Social Sciences majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Social Sciences majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Social Sciences in the United States.
The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Social Sciences is 43.3.
The most common degree type these workers hold is a Associates Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Social Sciences degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Social Sciences (5,936 students).
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Social Sciences. The most common ages of employees with this major are 35 and 34 years old, which represent 2.87% and 2.85% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in General Social Sciences are Associates Degree, Bachelors Degree, and Masters Degree.
The most common degree types held by the working population in Social Sciences 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 General Social Sciences.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in General Social Sciences 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 Associates Degree recipients in General Social Sciences.
Hispanic or Latino 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 Kyrgyzstan that hold Social Sciences degrees (4 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 (54,310 degree recipients).
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the General Social Sciences field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. General Social Sciences majors need many skills, but most especially Learning Strategies. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that General Social Sciences majors need more than the average amount of Instructing, Learning Strategies, and Social Perceptiveness.
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 General Social Sciences 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 Instructing is very distinctive for majors, but the Learning Strategies, Speaking, and Instructing are the three most important skills for people in the field.
