These are the five most popular majors at California colleges: business administration, psychology, sociology, communications and registered nursing. And where you go to college to pursue those majors can make a big difference in future earnings, according to an analysis of federal data.
During the fall college application season, as high school seniors compile lists of prospective campuses and make initial decisions about majors, evaluating the future payoff of a degree can weigh into decisions at a time when students and families are increasingly questioning the value of higher education, college advisors say.
Several of the state’s most selective public and private universities that offer popular majors — including UC Berkeley, UCLA and USC — tend to top the list of students who go on to earn the highest salaries. Colleges with lower-earnings can reflect regional economic differences while offering quality programs.
Also notable is that colleges within the California State University system offer a more affordable education, often without the need for student loans — and unlike other majors, top earnings graduates in registered nursing tend to graduate from CSU.
The range of earnings among students who graduate with the same degree at different colleges can be great, according to an analysis of federal data from the HEA Group. The income data is based on information collected from students who received federal loans or grants.
Not all colleges appear in the data for each of the most popular majors. Some may be left out because too few people graduated from those programs and the U.S. Department of Education didn’t release the data for privacy reasons. Others don’t offer those degrees.
Business administration, management and operations is the most popular bachelor’s degree in California for students using federal loans or grants to help pay for college, with nearly 20,000 graduates over a recent two-year period, the data analysis showed.
At UC Berkeley, for instance, those who completed a bachelor’s in business administration took home nearly $150,000 annually four years after graduation. Graduates of Cal State San Bernardino’s business administration program earned less than half that, according to the data.
Psychology comes in second in the popularity ranks, with about 10,300 graduates in the state in 2018 and 2019.
At USC, psychology graduates earned a median of nearly $70,500, while those who graduated from Cal Poly Humbolt earned about $46,000, the HEA analysis shows.
Experts said a number of factors contribute to the disparities within majors. Highly selective schools admit students with academic records suggesting they are well-primed to succeed. Job markets — and expected earnings — also vary depending on location. For example, tech-heavy Bay Area salaries are higher than those in the logistics-industry-dominated Inland Empire.
At the same time, the drive, skills and intelligence of individual students can propel them into high-paying jobs regardless of the college they attend, educators say. And graduates of the most popular majors at all colleges have higher median incomes than people who have only a high school diploma.
College graduates “can feel pretty confident they are going to be better off than if they never went at all,” said Diane Cheng, vice president of policy at the Institute for Higher Education Policy.
What to consider when choosing a major and campus
For prospective college students seeking to maximize their earning potential, there’s a number of factors to consider when examining how the data can inform decisions, experts said.
Julia Duncheon, an associate professor of education at the University of Washington, said high school students should first figure out what colleges are within their reach academically and then they can consider the graduate income of those schools — among other key factors, such as how the college programs will develop critical thinking skills.
“I tend to recommend to students that you think holistically,” Duncheon said. “What might be the [best] bang for my buck from that transaction standpoint, but then also what experiences are available on campus that are going to maximize the quality of my time in college.”
Johanna Vu, 22, credits the resources for first-generation and transfer students such as herself at UCLA as one major factor in helping her graduate in June with a bachelor’s in sociology and quickly get a job as a behavioral health provider.
Vu said events on how to build a resume were particularly helpful, as was a fellowship that provided a mentor and seminars on how to get a health-oriented job. Less than a year out of school, she earns around the median income of UCLA sociology grads four years after completion.
“I would say I’m pretty happy with where I am at,” the L.A. resident said.
From the financial standpoint, Michael Itzkowitz, president of the HEA Group, said the future income data is just one part of students’ “return on investment calculation.”
“At some institutions you may see former graduates with a very [high income] after they leave,” he said. “But you should also take into consideration what sort of out-of-pocket costs you are going to have to cough up in order to obtain that degree.”
Colleges that deliver the highest business degree salaries
The average salary for business administration, management and operations, according to HEA data, is $74,271 four years after completion of college.
For programs with at least 100 graduates over a two-year period, the top 10 highest earning business administration grads predominantly went to private schools, including USC, the University of San Diego, Pepperdine University, University of Redlands and Chapman University.
In addition to UC Berkeley, at No. 1, two other public schools came in the top 10 for earnings: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at second and UC Irvine at 9th.
Private schools could rise to the top for several reasons — some may offer robust career services, can be more selective and may have larger proportions of students from wealthy families with connections that provide a relative glide path to a high earning career, Itzkowitz and Duncheon said.
Though the data do not include students whose families paid for their entire education, “federally aided students at more selective institutions will be surrounded by much wealthier peers than students at others,” Itzkowitz said, citing research that shows exposure to wealthier peers helps boost economic mobility.
The school’s with the 10 lowest earnings for business administration majors are all within CSU, with Cal State San Bernardino coming in last at $56,361. But that doesn’t mean students should rush to take on loads of debt to attend a private college, Itzkowitz said.
CSU leads in student debt payoff and economic mobility
In 2025, the HEA Group released a report that ranked colleges’ “economic mobility,” defined by the proportion of low- and moderate-income students they served and how quickly those students could recoup their personal college costs with their workplace salaries after graduation.
The California State University system performed the best in this area, with nine of the top 10 colleges, according to HEA. That includes Cal State San Bernardino.
Tomas Gomez-Arias, the dean of the Jack Brown College of Business and Public Administration at Cal State San Bernardino, said a large number of the school’s business administration graduates come from low-income families and go into government and logistics jobs in the Inland Empire. Those jobs tend not to provide the high salaries of a career in technology or finance, but can offer strong wages in more affordable California communities.
The college’s business administration degree is also poised to easily pass a new government test that cuts off federal student aid if graduates of bachelor’s programs tend to earn less than people with only a high school diploma, with recent income for Cal State San Bernardino business grads around $20,000 above the threshold.
Gomez-Arias said the university is working to provide an education that will further boost incomes, including more pathways to internships.
“We are trying to increase the opportunities of our students,” he said.
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