This page shows what graduates with a bachelor's degree in Religion/Religious Studies 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 44 reporting units (schools, or groups of campuses that report together) with these figures.

Median earnings, 4 years after graduation
$41,390
All graduates nationally
Middle half of graduates nationally
$20,518–$65,165
25th to 75th percentile
Typical federal debt of graduates
$24,800
Median across reporting units

Schools reporting earnings for Religion/Religious Studies 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 (14 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.

See every school that awarded bachelor's degrees in Religion/Religious Studies 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 Religion/Religious Studies 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.

CareerMedian pay, 2025Projected growth, 2025–2035Openings per year
Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary$80,260+2.0%1,800
Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary$85,020+2.7%1,000

Frequently asked questions

Does a Religion/Religious Studies degree pay off?

Graduates with a bachelor's degree in Religion/Religious Studies earn a median of $41,390 four years after graduating, and typically owe about $24,800 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 Religion/Religious Studies graduates work in their field?

The National Survey of College Graduates (2023) asked employed graduates whose highest degree is a bachelor's in art and humanities fields how closely their job relates to their degree. About 32% said closely related, 28% somewhat related and 40% not related (roughly 4.0 million graduates). This is a broad group of fields, not only Religion/Religious Studies, 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.