Majors

Best Colleges for Music, by Earnings

933 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Music, about 14,163 degrees a year. Across the 247 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $43,388 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	Sonoma State University	CA	$65,533	17	93.4%
2	Christopher Newport University	VA	$63,852	12	86%
3	Stevens Institute of Technology	NJ	$61,943	23	47.6%
4	University of Florida	FL	$61,446	48	24.2%
5	Northeastern University	MA	$60,974	32	5.2%
6	Northeastern University Professional Programs	MA	$60,974	1
7	The University of Texas at El Paso	TX	$60,172	21	99.9%
8	University of Redlands	CA	$59,275	24	82.7%
9	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	TX	$59,218	41	94.2%
10	Vanderbilt University	TN	$59,217	56	5.9%
11	The University of Texas at Arlington	TX	$59,198	51	79.9%
12	Sam Houston State University	TX	$58,743	58	90.3%
13	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC	$58,127	48	15.3%
14	University of California-San Diego	CA	$58,071	15	26.7%
15	Texas A&M University-Kingsville	TX	$57,117	29	90.9%
16	Texas Tech University	TX	$57,043	76	72.7%
17	Texas Woman's University	TX	$56,884	32	96.1%
18	Hofstra University	NY	$56,847	14	68.1%
19	Tarleton State University	TX	$56,671	23	89.6%
20	University of Houston	TX	$56,667	55	73.9%
21	University of Connecticut	CT	$56,104	39	52.4%
22	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$56,008	61	58.1%
23	Rutgers University-Camden	NJ	$56,008	4	66.3%
24	Rutgers University-Newark	NJ	$56,008	1	71.4%
25	University of North Texas	TX	$55,705	236	72.2%
26	Monmouth University	NJ	$55,526	20	89%
27	East Texas A&M University	TX	$55,438	47	92.2%
28	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$55,161	36	96.2%
29	Illinois State University	IL	$54,767	25	88.2%
30	Lebanon Valley College	PA	$54,235	14	83.8%
31	Lamar University	TX	$53,904	10	86.4%
32	The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	$53,878	44	86.8%
33	Northwestern University	IL	$53,875	77	7.7%
34	Tennessee State University	TN	$53,483	6	70.1%
35	University of Massachusetts-Lowell	MA	$53,384	35	83%
36	Texas A & M International University	TX	$52,870	10	44.4%
37	New York University	NY	$52,841	87	7.7%
38	University of Rhode Island	RI	$52,346	11	72.2%
39	Stephen F Austin State University	TX	$52,341	66	94%
40	Texas State University	TX	$52,320	57	89.3%
41	Furman University	SC	$52,225	30	43%
42	Michigan State University	MI	$52,132	71	84.8%
43	Old Dominion University	VA	$52,028	23	90.4%
44	James Madison University	VA	$51,882	69	71.5%
45	Ithaca College	NY	$51,338	52	69%
46	Ohio State University	OH	$51,310	30	60.6%
47	Rhode Island College	RI	$51,090	10	91.8%
48	Central Washington University	WA	$51,008	30	90.6%
49	Luther College	IA	$50,947	33	71.5%
50	Biola University	CA	$50,781	23	74.4%
51	Miami University-Oxford	OH	$50,680	30	75.4%
52	Florida International University	FL	$50,677	32	54.7%
53	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$50,544	58	42.4%
54	Montclair State University	NJ	$50,418	59	87.9%
55	Wayne State University	MI	$50,340	39	81.2%
56	University of Iowa	IA	$50,180	52	83.6%
57	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	$49,761	23	79.6%
58	Indiana State University	IN	$49,711	18	80.8%
59	Auburn University	AL	$49,555	13	45.9%
60	Vermont State University	VT	$49,438	14	81.7%
61	University of Utah	UT	$49,240	45	86%
62	Eastern Illinois University	IL	$49,236	15	65.4%
63	University of Delaware	DE	$49,145	21	70.6%
64	Grand Valley State University	MI	$49,111	38	83%
65	West Texas A & M University	TX	$48,656	21	98.7%
66	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	PA	$48,630	39	90.8%
67	University of Denver	CO	$48,461	24	77.8%
68	West Virginia University	WV	$48,226	38	89%
69	Virginia Tech	VA	$48,028	23	54.8%
70	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	$47,990	23	87.5%
71	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$47,831	86	46.3%
72	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$47,779	66	9%
73	University of St Thomas	MN	$47,724	12	85.4%
74	University of Maryland	MD	$47,654	39	44.8%
75	Radford University	VA	$47,586	19	89.5%
76	Jacksonville State University	AL	$47,582	47	77.7%
77	Louisiana State University	LA	$47,521	32	73.3%
78	University of New Hampshire	NH	$47,448	16	88.2%
79	Northern Kentucky University	KY	$47,343	13	67.7%
80	Rowan University	NJ	$47,208	89	77.7%
81	University of Texas at Austin	TX	$47,164	56	26.6%
82	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	WI	$47,079	52	82.3%
83	University of New Haven	CT	$47,057	28	60.4%
84	George Mason University	VA	$46,765	63	87.5%
85	North Central College	IL	$46,744	6	77.3%
86	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	$46,701	40	41.6%
87	University of Tulsa	OK	$46,662	11	61.5%
88	Frostburg State University	MD	$46,546	9	89.2%
89	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	$46,532	92	74.7%
90	Mercer University	GA	$46,502	12	68.9%
91	University of Central Arkansas	AR	$46,446	6	89.5%
92	University of Arkansas	AR	$46,352	23	74.3%
93	Tennessee Technological University	TN	$46,253	10	76.1%
94	Duquesne University	PA	$46,217	23	83.6%
95	Southern Illinois University Edwardsville	IL	$46,196	15	97.5%
96	University of Northwestern-St Paul	MN	$46,177	11	93.5%
97	The Catholic University of America	DC	$46,123	27	82.8%
98	Rollins College	FL	$45,910	27	47.5%
99	University of Minnesota-Duluth	MN	$45,834	15	88.8%
100	SUNY at Fredonia	NY	$45,794	36	77.7%

Showing the top 100 of 247 colleges that report earnings. 686 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 Music graduates?

Sonoma State University ($65,533), Christopher Newport University ($63,852), Stevens Institute of Technology ($61,943), University of Florida ($61,446), Northeastern University ($60,974) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Music majors make?

The median across 247 colleges is $43,388 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $18,218 to $65,533.

Which colleges have the biggest Music programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Berklee College of Music (625), University of North Texas (236), Middle Tennessee State University (155), University of Rochester (140), Indiana University (137).

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 "Music". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.