Does a Political Science and Government Degree Pay Off? Earnings, Debt & Schools

Other degree levels for this field: Master's degrees

This page shows what graduates with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Government earn four years after graduating, what they typically owe, the schools that report these figures (listed alphabetically), and the occupations linked to this field by the federal CIP-to-SOC crosswalk. It covers 539 reporting units (schools, or groups of campuses that report together) with these figures.

Median earnings, 4 years after graduation

$63,293

All graduates nationally

Middle half of graduates nationally

$44,760–$85,406

25th to 75th percentile

Typical federal debt of graduates

$23,200

Median across reporting units

Schools reporting earnings for Political Science and Government graduates

Listed alphabetically to start; MajorPays does not rank schools. Click a column heading to sort; shift-click more headings to sort by several columns as a group. Median earnings four years after graduation, bachelor's degree, for programs with at least 30 graduates measured (331 reporting units; campuses that share one federal school ID report together and appear once). Schools with fewer graduates in the major, or whose figure the Department of Education withholds, are not listed.

School	State	Median earnings, 4 years after	Graduates measured
Allegheny College	PA	$60,241	33
American Public University System	WV	$81,056	57
American University	DC	$73,604	156
Appalachian State University	NC	$54,344	126
Arizona State University Campus Immersion (reported together with 1 other campus under one federal school ID)	AZ	$66,527	478
Ashford University	CA	$54,740	38
Auburn University	AL	$63,178	84
Austin Peay State University	TN	$48,840	43
Ball State University	IN	$58,953	38
Bates College	ME	$80,714	37
Baylor University	TX	$61,578	86
Binghamton University	NY	$73,044	126
Bloomfield College of Montclair State University (reported together with 1 other campus under one federal school ID)	NJ	$60,984	76
Boise State University	ID	$55,478	80
Boston College	MA	$86,537	134
Boston University	MA	$66,373	88
Bowdoin College	ME	$89,253	53
Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	OH	$58,254	62
Brandeis University	MA	$74,018	56
Bridgewater State University	MA	$58,936	37
Brigham Young University	UT	$83,209	83
Brigham Young University-Idaho	ID	$56,644	39
Brown University	RI	$85,388	42
Bucknell University	PA	$94,028	44
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	$81,843	71
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	CA	$61,712	83
California State University-Bakersfield	CA	$51,882	39
California State University-Channel Islands	CA	$58,306	43
California State University-Chico	CA	$61,293	76
California State University-Dominguez Hills	CA	$59,558	45
California State University-East Bay	CA	$71,022	35
California State University-Fresno	CA	$62,298	48
California State University-Fullerton	CA	$53,966	87
California State University-Long Beach	CA	$59,787	207
California State University-Los Angeles	CA	$56,063	90
California State University-Northridge	CA	$57,527	152
California State University-Sacramento	CA	$60,278	180
California State University-San Bernardino	CA	$53,378	63
California State University-San Marcos	CA	$50,857	45
Central Michigan University	MI	$50,462	63
Chapman University	CA	$68,856	74
Christopher Newport University	VA	$65,241	82
Citadel Military College of South Carolina	SC	$68,504	56
Clark University	MA	$68,174	50
Clemson University	SC	$64,822	67
Cleveland State University	OH	$49,647	43
Coastal Carolina University	SC	$53,948	51
Colgate University	NY	$83,188	38
College of Charleston	SC	$58,955	82
College of Staten Island CUNY	NY	$60,500	40
College of the Holy Cross	MA	$88,088	79
Colorado State University-Fort Collins	CO	$67,873	99
Columbia University in the City of New York	NY	$100,245	159
Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania	PA	$56,161	47
Cornell University	NY	$95,391	73
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College	NY	$64,231	60
CUNY Brooklyn College	NY	$63,184	37
CUNY City College	NY	$59,540	87
CUNY Hunter College	NY	$62,040	83
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice	NY	$62,150	97
CUNY Lehman College	NY	$59,020	41
CUNY Queens College	NY	$65,213	90
Dartmouth College	NH	$106,153	127
DePaul University	IL	$58,163	108
Dickinson College	PA	$59,834	49
Drake University	IA	$67,257	31
Duke University	NC	$88,459	46
Duquesne University	PA	$66,444	37
East Carolina University	NC	$60,419	103
East Tennessee State University	TN	$48,452	33
Eastern Michigan University	MI	$51,261	48
Eastern Washington University	WA	$53,502	33
Elon University	NC	$89,685	31
Emory University	GA	$94,001	60
Fairfield University	CT	$83,709	30
Fairmont State University	WV	$54,360	30
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University	FL	$48,733	49
Florida Atlantic University	FL	$53,872	104
Florida Gulf Coast University	FL	$54,824	47
Florida International University	FL	$57,996	178
Florida State University	FL	$68,059	390
Fordham University	NY	$74,419	131
Franklin and Marshall College	PA	$74,822	52
Frostburg State University	MD	$57,770	30
Furman University	SC	$74,476	52
George Mason University	VA	$74,125	196
George Washington University	DC	$79,692	242
Georgetown University	DC	$79,502	168
Georgia College & State University	GA	$61,009	32
Georgia Southern University	GA	$58,949	60
Georgia State University	GA	$58,432	177
Gettysburg College	PA	$76,597	68
Gonzaga University	WA	$74,303	41
Grand Canyon University	AZ	$56,495	82
Grand Valley State University	MI	$48,896	60
Harvard University	MA	$95,838	56
Hobart William Smith Colleges	NY	$79,778	42
Hofstra University	NY	$63,728	56
Howard University	DC	$65,733	81
Illinois State University	IL	$59,571	97
Indiana State University	IN	$59,060	34
Indiana University-Bloomington	IN	$69,992	90
Indiana University-Indianapolis	IN	$56,560	50
Iowa State University	IA	$57,752	84
James Madison University	VA	$73,326	72
Kansas State University	KS	$63,811	35
Kennesaw State University	GA	$61,971	89
Kent State University at Kent	OH	$52,423	96
Lafayette College	PA	$87,904	46
Le Moyne College	NY	$64,258	42
Liberty University	VA	$56,550	134
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	LA	$67,007	120
Louisiana Tech University	LA	$51,222	30
Loyola Marymount University	CA	$72,375	103
Loyola University Chicago	IL	$63,437	93
Loyola University Maryland	MD	$81,575	52
Macalester College	MN	$58,555	42
Marist University	NY	$74,308	32
Marquette University	WI	$74,008	68
Metropolitan State University of Denver	CO	$60,639	44
Miami University-Oxford	OH	$75,374	149
Michigan State University	MI	$67,032	152
Middle Tennessee State University	TN	$50,169	70
Millersville University of Pennsylvania	PA	$52,099	42
Mississippi State University	MS	$54,325	42
Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	$58,014	35
Monmouth University	NJ	$64,438	54
Montana State University	MT	$51,285	37
New York University	NY	$80,957	126
North Carolina Central University	NC	$47,317	40
North Carolina State University at Raleigh	NC	$62,824	134
North Dakota State University-Main Campus	ND	$52,834	34
Northeastern Illinois University	IL	$60,545	32
Northeastern University (reported together with 1 other campus under one federal school ID)	MA	$73,539	118
Northern Arizona University	AZ	$58,571	50
Northern Illinois University	IL	$54,039	91
Northwestern University	IL	$73,231	78
Oakland University	MI	$51,129	39
Oberlin College	OH	$70,689	32
Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	$65,972	288
Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus (reported together with 5 other campuses under one federal school ID)	OH	$58,907	97
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	$63,977	66
Old Dominion University	VA	$59,939	51
Oregon State University	OR	$63,354	74
Pace University	NY	$66,408	33
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus (reported together with 7 other campuses under one federal school ID)	PA	$68,918	187
Pennsylvania Western University	PA	$57,724	39
Portland State University	OR	$59,185	79
Princeton University	NJ	$88,576	32
Providence College	RI	$75,637	53
Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	$71,601	63
Radford University	VA	$64,901	40
Randolph-Macon College	VA	$71,111	37
Rhode Island College	RI	$54,540	35
Rowan University	NJ	$64,525	37
Rutgers University-Camden (reported together with 2 other campuses under one federal school ID)	NJ	$63,765	382
Saint Anselm College	NH	$80,763	31
Saint Cloud State University	MN	$48,305	32
Saint Edward's University	TX	$63,504	30
Salisbury University	MD	$60,089	51
Sam Houston State University	TX	$55,894	59
San Diego State University	CA	$64,824	106
San Francisco State University	CA	$61,915	132
Santa Clara University	CA	$93,518	40
Seattle University	WA	$63,443	30
Seton Hall University	NJ	$63,814	43
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania	PA	$55,295	40
Siena College	NY	$63,075	50
Smith College	MA	$68,916	47
Sonoma State University	CA	$65,009	44
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	IL	$55,544	36
Southern New Hampshire University	NH	$62,387	45
Spelman College	GA	$66,378	64
St Lawrence University	NY	$75,486	52
St Olaf College	MN	$57,869	43
St. John's University-New York	NY	$59,122	45
State University of New York at Cortland	NY	$60,296	33
State University of New York at Plattsburgh	NY	$49,754	36
Stetson University	FL	$52,667	34
Stockton University	NJ	$54,022	45
Stonehill College	MA	$76,123	35
Stony Brook University	NY	$70,243	94
Suffolk University	MA	$73,484	59
SUNY Brockport	NY	$57,866	35
SUNY College at Geneseo	NY	$66,670	71
SUNY Oneonta	NY	$66,572	42
Syracuse University	NY	$75,239	171
Temple University	PA	$59,848	139
Texas A & M International University	TX	$50,544	47
Texas A&M University-College Station	TX	$69,375	263
Texas Christian University	TX	$75,419	80
Texas State University	TX	$56,716	158
Texas Tech University	TX	$59,466	102
The Catholic University of America	DC	$73,917	75
The College of New Jersey	NJ	$69,317	41
The University of Alabama	AL	$61,617	116
The University of Tampa	FL	$58,754	39
The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga	TN	$63,654	55
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	$60,073	187
The University of Texas at Arlington	TX	$50,006	64
The University of Texas at Austin	TX	$75,988	315
The University of Texas at Dallas	TX	$65,869	43
The University of Texas at El Paso	TX	$54,069	60
The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	$53,674	78
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	TX	$44,895	50
Towson University	MD	$60,313	69
Trinity College	CT	$94,097	47
Tufts University	MA	$78,180	54
Tulane University of Louisiana	LA	$71,160	60
University at Albany	NY	$64,270	203
University at Buffalo	NY	$58,292	98
University of Akron Main Campus	OH	$48,987	41
University of Arizona	AZ	$56,585	123
University of Arkansas	AR	$60,441	91
University of California-Berkeley	CA	$75,128	319
University of California-Davis	CA	$67,759	232
University of California-Irvine	CA	$63,318	253
University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$74,202	504
University of California-Merced	CA	$62,815	70
University of California-Riverside	CA	$56,740	256
University of California-San Diego	CA	$67,713	255
University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	$70,384	239
University of California-Santa Cruz	CA	$65,890	123
University of Central Florida	FL	$64,056	138
University of Chicago	IL	$87,869	51
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	$58,863	37
University of Colorado Boulder	CO	$69,651	93
University of Colorado Colorado Springs	CO	$63,538	35
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	$58,854	53
University of Connecticut	CT	$63,902	199
University of Dayton	OH	$68,731	47
University of Delaware	DE	$66,224	150
University of Denver	CO	$66,288	37
University of Florida	FL	$70,434	283
University of Georgia	GA	$70,877	132
University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	$55,177	62
University of Houston	TX	$61,533	152
University of Illinois Chicago	IL	$60,020	90
University of Illinois Springfield	IL	$58,236	32
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$69,515	192
University of Iowa	IA	$65,923	98
University of Kansas	KS	$61,839	62
University of Kentucky	KY	$57,514	98
University of Louisiana at Lafayette	LA	$48,378	40
University of Louisiana at Monroe	LA	$51,722	31
University of Louisville	KY	$55,856	64
University of Maine	ME	$58,303	36
University of Maryland Global Campus	MD	$82,263	67
University of Maryland-Baltimore County	MD	$64,756	61
University of Maryland-College Park	MD	$74,437	204
University of Massachusetts-Amherst	MA	$60,726	83
University of Massachusetts-Boston	MA	$63,131	85
University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth	MA	$62,918	46
University of Massachusetts-Lowell	MA	$63,584	46
University of Memphis	TN	$50,070	50
University of Miami	FL	$62,216	68
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	$77,480	267
University of Michigan-Dearborn	MI	$58,641	36
University of Minnesota-Duluth	MN	$58,256	45
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	$65,487	245
University of Mississippi	MS	$65,925	31
University of Missouri-Columbia	MO	$64,747	123
University of Nebraska at Omaha	NE	$52,331	52
University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	$63,466	81
University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$58,855	66
University of Nevada-Reno	NV	$55,483	76
University of New Hampshire at Manchester (reported together with 1 other campus under one federal school ID)	NH	$64,762	135
University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	$52,569	82
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC	$72,001	413
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	$57,273	210
University of North Carolina at Greensboro	NC	$51,657	75
University of North Carolina Wilmington	NC	$58,258	74
University of North Florida	FL	$58,718	92
University of North Georgia	GA	$59,993	61
University of North Texas	TX	$57,852	110
University of Notre Dame	IN	$94,297	96
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	OK	$56,749	65
University of Oregon	OR	$62,408	188
University of Pennsylvania	PA	$93,033	64
University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg (reported together with 2 other campuses under one federal school ID)	PA	$66,231	111
University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez	PR	$26,696	43
University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras	PR	$41,417	61
University of Puget Sound	WA	$52,278	51
University of Rhode Island	RI	$60,559	105
University of Richmond	VA	$68,339	32
University of Rochester	NY	$68,510	36
University of San Diego	CA	$62,301	41
University of San Francisco	CA	$72,263	31
University of South Carolina-Columbia	SC	$65,464	164
University of South Dakota	SD	$61,362	31
University of South Florida	FL	$64,820	174
University of Southern California	CA	$75,090	122
University of the District of Columbia	DC	$66,952	31
University of Utah	UT	$68,490	74
University of Vermont	VT	$63,279	79
University of Virginia-Main Campus	VA	$78,310	82
University of Washington-Bothell Campus (reported together with 2 other campuses under one federal school ID)	WA	$72,487	208
University of West Georgia	GA	$53,827	49
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	WI	$50,316	36
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay	WI	$49,349	36
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse	WI	$57,256	35
University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	$66,148	240
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	WI	$51,320	112
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point	WI	$50,872	44
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	WI	$54,074	42
Utah State University	UT	$70,711	43
Utah Valley University	UT	$61,464	33
Vanderbilt University	TN	$102,789	56
Vassar College	NY	$69,942	48
Villanova University	PA	$83,179	113
Virginia Commonwealth University	VA	$62,182	192
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA	$75,687	186
Wake Forest University	NC	$85,668	63
Washington & Jefferson College	PA	$63,258	34
Washington and Lee University	VA	$95,190	33
Washington State University	WA	$67,264	58
Wayne State University	MI	$61,466	66
Wellesley College	MA	$72,830	42
West Virginia University (reported together with 1 other campus under one federal school ID)	WV	$56,969	98
Western Carolina University	NC	$52,077	31
Western Kentucky University	KY	$54,333	38
Western Michigan University	MI	$54,840	54
Western Washington University	WA	$49,640	84
Westfield State University	MA	$60,025	56
Willamette University	OR	$63,407	38
William & Mary	VA	$72,173	123
Williams College	MA	$88,339	43
Wofford College	SC	$68,661	34
Wright State University-Main Campus	OH	$56,423	36
Xavier University	OH	$63,347	50
Yale University	CT	$90,764	84

See every school that awarded bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Government in 2023-24, including schools that do not report earnings, with the number of degrees awarded (IPEDS Completions).

Occupations O*NET associates with this field

Occupations that U.S. Department of Labor O*NET data links to Political Science and Government programs, with each occupation's national median pay, projected job growth and yearly openings. They are listed in the order O*NET links them to this field; click a column heading to sort. This is a classification crosswalk, not evidence that graduates enter these jobs, and many of these occupations require more education, a license or experience beyond this credential. The figures describe the occupation, not the graduates of this major.

Career	Median pay, 2025	Projected growth, 2025–2035	Openings per year
Managers, All Other	$141,900	+4.9%	100,900
Regulatory Affairs Managers	$141,900	+4.9%	100,900
Compliance Managers	$141,900	+4.9%	100,900
Loss Prevention Managers	$141,900	+4.9%	100,900
Wind Energy Operations Managers	$141,900	+4.9%	100,900
Wind Energy Development Managers	$141,900	+4.9%	100,900
Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers	$141,900	+4.9%	100,900
Political Scientists	$142,080	-2.0%	400
Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary	$98,070	+2.5%	1,500
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	$72,040	-0.2%	63,500

Frequently asked questions

Does a Political Science and Government degree pay off?

Graduates with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Government earn a median of $63,293 four years after graduating, and typically owe about $23,200 in federal loans. Earnings four years out are early-career pay, and they vary widely by school, job and place. Compare the pay with the cost of your own school on its graduate earnings page.

How much do college graduates earn overall?

See earnings by education level and by state.

Do Political Science and Government graduates work in their field?

The National Survey of College Graduates (2023) asked employed graduates whose highest degree is a bachelor's in political and related sciences how closely their job relates to their degree. About 18% said closely related, 36% somewhat related and 46% not related (roughly 740 thousand graduates). This is a broad group of fields, not only Political Science and Government, and a job outside the field is not a bad outcome by itself.

Closely relatedSomewhat relatedNot related

Source: U.S. National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Survey of College Graduates, 2023 (Table 1-3, bachelor's level, all occupations). Survey estimates, rounded by NSF. MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; NSF has not approved or endorsed them.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study data (June 2026 release), licensed under Creative Commons Attribution; careers from O*NET 31.0 by the U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Career pay, growth and openings: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) and Employment Projections (2025-2035). MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; neither agency has approved or endorsed them. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. MajorPays has modified all or some of the O*NET information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Earnings are for graduates who received federal financial aid and were working and not enrolled four years after finishing (graduates of academic years 2014-15 and 2015-16, in 2021 dollars; the debt figures are for graduates of 2018-19 and 2019-20); the data says nothing about how much a school added to its graduates' earnings.