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In 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of Liberal Arts & Sciences degree recipients are Santa Monica, CA, Los Angeles, CA, and Indianapolis city (balance), IN. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of Liberal Arts & Sciences degree recipients are Marion, AL, Oxford, GA, and Annapolis, MD. The most common degree awarded to students studying Liberal Arts & Sciences is a associates degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Liberal Arts & Sciences and the types of students that study this field. Santa Monica College awards the most degrees in Liberal Arts & Sciences in the US, but Emory University-Oxford College and University of South Carolina-Sumter have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Liberal Arts & Sciences.
Tuition costs for Liberal Arts & Sciences majors are, on average, $6,930 for in-state public colleges, and $35,210 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Liberal Arts & Sciences programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (755 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 2-year (292,412 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Liberal Arts & Sciences, is Public, 2-year (292,412 completions in 2024).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Liberal Arts & Sciences programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
Santa Monica College has the most Liberal Arts & Sciences degree recipients, with 9,669 degrees awarded in 2024.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Liberal Arts & Sciences.
Out of all institutions that offer Liberal Arts & Sciences programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Emory University-Oxford College has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Liberal Arts & Sciences, with 100%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Liberal Arts & Sciences by year.
Information on the businesses and industries that employ Liberal Arts & Humanities graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.
The average salary for Liberal Arts & Humanities majors is $86,092 and the most common occupations are Elementary & middle school teachers, Other managers, and Secondary school teachers.
The industry that employs the most Liberal Arts & Humanities majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Not specified metal industries.
The average salary for Liberal Arts & Humanities majors is $86,092 and the most common occupations are Elementary & middle school teachers, Other managers, and Secondary school teachers.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Liberal Arts & Humanities majors.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Liberal Arts & Humanities majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Liberal Arts & Humanities 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 Liberal Arts & Humanities majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & middle school teachers, Other managers, and Secondary school teachers.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Liberal Arts & Humanities majors working as Brokerage clerks, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Librarians.
The highest paid occupations by median income for Liberal Arts & Humanities majors are Surgeons, Correspondence clerks & order clerks, and Counter & rental clerks.
The number of Liberal Arts & Humanities graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 1.17%, from 697,336 in 2023 to 705,504 in 2024.
The largest single share of Liberal Arts & Humanities graduates go on to work as Elementary & middle school teachers (9.33%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Liberal Arts & Humanities by share of the total number of graduates.
The most common industries that employ Liberal Arts & Humanities majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals.
The highest paying industries of Liberal Arts & Humanities majors, by average wage, are Not specified metal industries, Miscellaneous petroleum & coal products, and Pottery, ceramics, & plumbing fixture manufacturing .
The number of Liberal Arts & Humanities graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 1.17%, from 697,336 in 2023 to 705,504 in 2024.
The industry which employs the most Liberal Arts & Humanities 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 Liberal Arts & Humanities.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Liberal Arts & Humanities majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Liberal Arts & Humanities 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 Liberal Arts & Humanities in the United States.
The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Liberal Arts & Humanities is 45.3.
The most common degree type these workers hold is a Associates Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Liberal Arts & Humanities degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Liberal Arts & Humanities (246,161 students).
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Liberal Arts & Humanities. The most common ages of employees with this major are 41 and 40 years old, which represent 2.92% and 2.85% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Liberal Arts & Sciences are Associates Degree, 1 to 2 Year Postsecondary Certificate, and Bachelors Degree.
The most common degree types held by the working population in Liberal Arts & Humanities 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 Liberal Arts & Sciences.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Liberal Arts & 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 Liberal Arts & Sciences.
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 Iceland that hold Liberal Arts & Humanities degrees (8.62 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 (11,814 degree recipients).
Photo by Roman Boed