Majors

Best Colleges for Sociology, by Earnings

860 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Sociology, about 25,461 degrees a year. Across the 439 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $52,125 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	Columbia University	NY	$101,536	70	4%
2	College of William & Mary	VA	$87,655	37	34.1%
3	Vanderbilt University	TN	$83,649	34	5.9%
4	Dartmouth College	NH	$81,722	39	5.4%
5	George Washington University	DC	$78,857	19	47.1%
6	Barnard College	NY	$77,821	33	8.8%
7	New York University	NY	$77,650	55	7.7%
8	Northwestern University	IL	$75,267	42	7.7%
9	Cornell University	NY	$73,200	47	8.8%
10	University of Pennsylvania	PA	$72,217	8	5.4%
11	Fordham University	NY	$71,581	62	59.3%
12	University of California-Berkeley	CA	$71,363	294	11%
13	University of Southern California	CA	$70,555	66	9.8%
14	Boston College	MA	$70,121	53	16.4%
15	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	$69,883	66	31.3%
16	University of Notre Dame	IN	$69,704	40	11.3%
17	Northeastern University	MA	$69,585	19	5.2%
18	Northeastern University Professional Programs	MA	$69,585	8
19	University of Virginia	VA	$68,538	69	16.8%
20	The College of New Jersey	NJ	$68,260	13	62.3%
21	Loyola Marymount University	CA	$68,053	42	45.1%
22	California Lutheran University	CA	$67,998	16	75.7%
23	Assumption University	MA	$67,635	12	83%
24	Hobart William Smith Colleges	NY	$67,556	10	64%
25	Quinnipiac University	CT	$67,262	21	72.2%
26	Wagner College	NY	$67,061	11	88%
27	Syracuse University	NY	$67,044	55	45.9%
28	University of Maryland	MD	$65,974	63	44.8%
29	Hartwick College	NY	$65,765	16	69.6%
30	CUNY Brooklyn College	NY	$65,606	30	58.4%
31	Brandeis University	MA	$65,481	37	40.5%
32	SUNY College at Geneseo	NY	$65,234	38	66.5%
33	Clark University	MA	$64,988	19	39.5%
34	La Salle University	PA	$64,953	15	96.6%
35	National University	CA	$64,860	41
36	Binghamton University	NY	$64,797	37	38.6%
37	Providence College	RI	$64,750	25	50.9%
38	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$64,692	669	9%
39	College of the Holy Cross	MA	$64,642	52	17.6%
40	George Mason University	VA	$64,603	35	87.5%
41	Siena University	NY	$64,070	13	69%
42	Boston University	MA	$63,791	47	11.1%
43	Connecticut College	CT	$63,777	23	37%
44	University of Miami	FL	$63,764	34	18.9%
45	Virginia Tech	VA	$63,654	211	54.8%
46	Central Washington University	WA	$63,608	74	90.6%
47	University of Michigan	MI	$63,419	134	15.6%
48	Shepherd University	WV	$63,412	19	96.8%
49	Franklin and Marshall College	PA	$63,251	21	28.2%
50	University of Massachusetts Global	CA	$63,036	19
51	Gonzaga University	WA	$62,626	26	81.7%
52	Spelman College	GA	$62,587	18	24.9%
53	Morehouse College	GA	$62,517	26	44%
54	University of Redlands	CA	$62,516	22	82.7%
55	California State University-East Bay	CA	$62,427	186	97.4%
56	Texas Christian University	TX	$62,392	22	44.5%
57	San Francisco State University	CA	$62,385	157	96.4%
58	Moravian University	PA	$62,315	19	54.2%
59	Mount Holyoke College	MA	$62,313	16	36%
60	Michigan State University	MI	$62,204	152	84.8%
61	Chapman University	CA	$62,047	34	65.4%
62	University of Mount Saint Vincent	NY	$61,964	19	85.1%
63	University of San Francisco	CA	$61,883	34	61.7%
64	Manhattanville University	NY	$61,752	12	87.3%
65	University of Delaware	DE	$61,725	45	70.6%
66	Tufts University	MA	$61,719	47	11.5%
67	Loyola University Chicago	IL	$61,429	29	81.6%
68	Duke University	NC	$61,425	42	5.7%
69	University of La Verne	CA	$61,350	21	71.2%
70	American International College	MA	$61,173	2	99.6%
71	Miami University-Oxford	OH	$61,149	32	75.4%
72	University of Georgia	GA	$61,124	94	37.7%
73	Vassar College	NY	$61,106	16	18.6%
74	Suffolk University	MA	$61,032	31	82.3%
75	Wake Forest University	NC	$60,635	31	21.7%
76	University of Washington	WA	$60,292	219	39.1%
77	Brigham Young University	UT	$60,277	73	67.8%
78	Drew University	NJ	$60,261	15	67.8%
79	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	$60,013	692	33%
80	CUNY York College	NY	$59,899	39	64.1%
81	Pacific Lutheran University	WA	$59,853	18	78%
82	University of Connecticut	CT	$59,684	68	52.4%
83	Rhode Island College	RI	$59,643	23	91.8%
84	Roanoke College	VA	$59,580	14	83.1%
85	Mount Saint Mary's University	CA	$59,575	27	73.1%
86	Le Moyne College	NY	$59,291	10	83%
87	University of California-Davis	CA	$59,171	287	41.8%
88	Stony Brook University	NY	$58,966	115	49%
89	Franklin College	IN	$58,827	12	69.8%
90	University of Texas at Austin	TX	$58,807	135	26.6%
91	Smith College	MA	$58,664	29	21%
92	Occidental College	CA	$58,598	16	44.2%
93	Hofstra University	NY	$58,483	18	68.1%
94	Canisius University	NY	$58,469	1	72.4%
95	University of Massachusetts-Boston	MA	$58,394	51	83.8%
96	University of the Pacific	CA	$58,275	12	71.3%
97	Middlebury College	VT	$58,241	10	10.8%
98	University of Mary Washington	VA	$58,224	29	79.8%
99	University of Maine	ME	$58,217	24	96.6%
100	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	$58,026	191	78.1%

Showing the top 100 of 439 colleges that report earnings. 421 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 Sociology graduates?

Columbia University ($101,536), College of William & Mary ($87,655), Vanderbilt University ($83,649), Dartmouth College ($81,722), George Washington University ($78,857) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Sociology majors make?

The median across 439 colleges is $52,125 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $26,901 to $101,536.

Which colleges have the biggest Sociology programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: University of California-Santa Barbara (692), University of California-Los Angeles (669), California State University-Northridge (424), California State University-Los Angeles (394), California State University-Fullerton (367).

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