Speech Communication & Rhetoric
Add ComparisonIn 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of Speech Communication & Rhetoric degree recipients are Los Angeles, CA, Fullerton, CA, and Long Beach, CA. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of Speech Communication & Rhetoric degree recipients are Greencastle, IN, Lancaster, OH, and Dix Hills, NY. The most common degree awarded to students studying Speech Communication & Rhetoric is a bachelors degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Speech Communication & Rhetoric and the types of students that study this field. California State University-Fullerton awards the most degrees in Speech Communication & Rhetoric in the US, but DePauw University and Ohio University-Lancaster Campus have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Speech Communication & Rhetoric.
Tuition costs for Speech Communication & Rhetoric majors are, on average, $7,704 for in-state public colleges, and $38,340 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Speech Communication & Rhetoric programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (341 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (23,098 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Speech Communication & Rhetoric, is Public, 4-year or above (23,098 completions in 2024).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Speech Communication & Rhetoric programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
California State University-Fullerton has the most Speech Communication & Rhetoric degree recipients, with 628 degrees awarded in 2024.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Speech Communication & Rhetoric.
Out of all institutions that offer Speech Communication & Rhetoric programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, DePauw University has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Speech Communication & Rhetoric, with 13%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Speech Communication & Rhetoric by year.
Information on the businesses and industries that employ Communications graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.
The average salary for Communications majors is $92,774 and the most common occupations are Other managers, Marketing managers, and Elementary & middle school teachers.
The industry that employs the most Communications majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Nonferrous metal (except aluminum) production & processing.
The average salary for Communications majors is $92,774 and the most common occupations are Other managers, Marketing managers, and Elementary & middle school teachers.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Communications majors.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Communications majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Communications 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 Communications majors, by number of employees, are Other managers, Marketing managers, and Elementary & middle school teachers.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Communications majors working as News analysts, reporters & correspondents, Public relations specialists, and Public relations & fundraising managers.
The highest paid occupations by median income for Communications majors are Surgeons, Physicians, and Nuclear medicine technologists and medical dosimetrists.
The number of Communications graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.21%, from 2.52M in 2023 to 2.6M in 2024.
The largest single share of Communications graduates go on to work as Other managers (5.17%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Communications by share of the total number of graduates.
The most common industries that employ Communications majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Computer Systems Design.
The highest paying industries of Communications majors, by average wage, are Nonferrous metal (except aluminum) production & processing, Oil & gas extraction, and Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals.
The number of Communications graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.21%, from 2.52M in 2023 to 2.6M in 2024.
The industry which employs the most Communications 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 Communications.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Communications majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Communications 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 Communications in the United States.
The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Communications is 41.1.
The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Communications degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Communications (17,490 students).
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Communications. The most common ages of employees with this major are 30 and 29 years old, which represent 3.19% and 3.16% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Speech Communication & Rhetoric are Bachelors Degree, Associates Degree, and Masters Degree.
The most common degree types held by the working population in Communications 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 Speech Communication & Rhetoric.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Speech Communication & Rhetoric 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 Speech Communication & Rhetoric.
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 Samoa that hold Communications degrees (7 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 (19,582 degree recipients).
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Speech Communication & Rhetoric field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Speech Communication & Rhetoric majors need many skills, but most especially Speaking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Speech Communication & Rhetoric majors need more than the average amount of Operation and Control, Speaking, and Operations Monitoring.
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 Speech Communication & Rhetoric 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 Operation and Control is very distinctive for majors, but the Speaking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension are the three most important skills for people in the field.
