Majors

Best Colleges for Journalism, by Earnings

310 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Journalism, about 9,965 degrees a year. Across the 173 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $54,081 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	Lehigh University	PA	$81,935	19	25.9%
2	George Washington University	DC	$81,927	48	47.1%
3	University of Southern California	CA	$79,776	97	9.8%
4	Chapman University	CA	$79,135	34	65.4%
5	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	$75,967	221	45.2%
6	Northeastern University	MA	$74,709	42	5.2%
7	Fordham University	NY	$72,475	36	59.3%
8	University of Miami	FL	$71,466	27	18.9%
9	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	$70,829	51	31.3%
10	Syracuse University	NY	$70,404	139	45.9%
11	Elon University	NC	$69,964	38	66.4%
12	University of Missouri	MO	$69,016	461	78.5%
13	University of Maryland	MD	$68,128	109	44.8%
14	Creighton University	NE	$67,808	20	79.8%
15	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$67,539	49	42.4%
16	The College of New Jersey	NJ	$67,038	10	62.3%
17	University of Minnesota	MN	$66,799	80	79.8%
18	American University	DC	$66,635	49	62%
19	University of Arkansas	AR	$66,087	93	74.3%
20	Boston University	MA	$65,617	91	11.1%
21	Stony Brook University	NY	$65,535	42	49%
22	Arizona State University	AZ	$64,224	158	89.9%
23	Baylor University	TX	$63,622	58	51.3%
24	California State University-Chico	CA	$63,358	21	92.7%
25	Emerson College	MA	$63,337	68	51.3%
26	Marquette University	WI	$63,322	29	81.3%
27	Drake University	IA	$62,969	37	63.9%
28	Gonzaga University	WA	$62,743	12	81.7%
29	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$62,670	120	58.1%
30	Rutgers University-Newark	NJ	$62,670	20	71.4%
31	University of Kansas	KS	$62,394	203	93.5%
32	Long Island University	NY	$62,355	7	86.2%
33	Pennsylvania State University	PA	$62,336	175	60.6%
34	Quinnipiac University	CT	$61,819	35	72.2%
35	Utah State University	UT	$61,724	56	92.5%
36	DePaul University	IL	$61,708	28	75.9%
37	Hampton University	VA	$61,675	23	62.3%
38	Hofstra University	NY	$61,609	48	68.1%
39	Ithaca College	NY	$61,317	20	69%
40	University of Texas at Austin	TX	$61,145	116	26.6%
41	Miami University-Oxford	OH	$60,974	25	75.4%
42	University of Central Florida	FL	$60,887	56	40.1%
43	University of Georgia	GA	$60,729	149	37.7%
44	CUNY Brooklyn College	NY	$60,272	19	58.4%
45	Biola University	CA	$59,925	14	74.4%
46	University of Connecticut	CT	$59,604	25	52.4%
47	Michigan State University	MI	$59,498	115	84.8%
48	University at Albany	NY	$59,495	23	69.1%
49	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	$59,276	123	85%
50	Indiana University	IN	$59,151	123	78.2%
51	St. John's University-New York	NY	$59,067	25	83.4%
52	California Baptist University	CA	$58,821	7	84.9%
53	St Bonaventure University	NY	$58,816	9	81.7%
54	Pepperdine University	CA	$58,801	13	62.9%
55	Washington State University	WA	$58,795	86	86.6%
56	Texas Christian University	TX	$58,738	36	44.5%
57	West Virginia University	WV	$58,454	152	89%
58	University of Florida	FL	$58,150	176	24.2%
59	Texas State University	TX	$57,963	48	89.3%
60	Northern Arizona University	AZ	$57,868	27	89.6%
61	Georgia College & State University	GA	$57,843	93	78.2%
62	Western Washington University	WA	$57,697	48	93.3%
63	University of Northern Colorado	CO	$57,603	15	85.9%
64	University of California-Irvine	CA	$57,492	33	28.6%
65	University of North Texas	TX	$57,461	238	72.2%
66	Loyola University Chicago	IL	$57,407	28	81.6%
67	University of Alaska Anchorage	AK	$57,321	15
68	San Francisco State University	CA	$57,260	32	96.4%
69	Suffolk University	MA	$57,220	19	82.3%
70	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	$57,079	61	78.1%
71	Central Connecticut State University	CT	$56,990	12	73.3%
72	University of Iowa	IA	$56,933	95	83.6%
73	Kansas State University	KS	$56,418	62	81.7%
74	University of Mississippi	MS	$56,381	37	96.6%
75	University of Arizona	AZ	$55,676	69	86.1%
76	Illinois State University	IL	$55,641	34	88.2%
77	University of Oregon	OR	$55,615	136	88.3%
78	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$55,192	84	46.3%
79	The University of Alabama	AL	$55,043	105	76.6%
80	Georgia State University	GA	$54,732	115	55.4%
81	University of Maine	ME	$54,717	14	96.6%
82	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College	NY	$54,425	48	47.5%
83	Georgia Southern University	GA	$54,396	19	87.9%
84	Kennesaw State University	GA	$54,360	44	69.2%
85	University of Nevada-Reno	NV	$54,322	85	73.7%
86	Wayne State University	MI	$54,188	17	81.2%
87	Duquesne University	PA	$54,081	4	83.6%
88	Eastern Illinois University	IL	$54,038	13	65.4%
89	University of Oklahoma	OK	$54,031	224	76.6%
90	San Diego State University	CA	$53,997	167	36.2%
91	CUNY York College	NY	$53,901	13	64.1%
92	Widener University	PA	$53,724	6	70.9%
93	Iowa State University	IA	$53,633	44	88.7%
94	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	$53,618	89	87.5%
95	Montclair State University	NJ	$53,579	27	87.9%
96	Bloomfield College of Montclair State University	NJ	$53,579	2	69.7%
97	Colorado State University	CO	$53,528	139	88.5%
98	Temple University	PA	$53,518	65	80.4%
99	California State University-Northridge	CA	$53,351	128	93.5%
100	University of South Carolina	SC	$53,294	81	60.2%

Showing the top 100 of 173 colleges that report earnings. 137 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Journalism graduates?

Lehigh University ($81,935), George Washington University ($81,927), University of Southern California ($79,776), Chapman University ($79,135), University of Wisconsin-Madison ($75,967) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Journalism majors make?

The median across 173 colleges is $54,081 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $29,511 to $81,935.

Which colleges have the biggest Journalism programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: University of Missouri (461), University of North Texas (238), University of Oklahoma (224), University of Wisconsin-Madison (221), University of Kansas (203).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Journalism". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.