by our College Data Analytics Team
[Ethnic Studies](/majors/ethnic-cultural-gender-studies/ethnic-studies/) is a field where your choice of school can shape what you earn after graduation. A top-earning program sends graduates into careers with strong starting pay.
For its 2026 highest-paid-graduates ranking, College Factual looked at 5 schools to find where ethnic studies graduates earn the most.
What’s on this page:
The right ethnic studies school can pay off in your paycheck for years to come. That is why we built our Highest Paid Ethnic Studies Graduates ranking. We rank each school on the early-career earnings of its ethnic studies graduates to surface the highest-paying programs.
Learn more about our methodology
We offer a number of rankings, including this Highest Paid Ethnic Studies Graduates list, to help you decide. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
Want to compare schools head to head? Try our College Combat tool to weigh the factors that matter most to you.
Read more about College Factual’s methodology
Below are the schools whose ethnic studies graduates go on to earn the most.
San Francisco State University earned the #1 spot for highest-paid ethnic studies graduates in the United States. Set in the city of San Francisco, San Francisco State University is a public institution. Students who complete the ethnic studies program here go on to a median salary of roughly $66,934.
Students chasing top earnings in ethnic studies will find them at Northeastern Illinois University, which ranked #2. Northeastern Illinois University is a public school located in the city of Chicago. Ethnic Studies graduates of Northeastern Illinois University earn a median of about $64,859 a year early in their careers.
Students chasing top earnings in ethnic studies will find them at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, which ranked #3. Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a public school located in the town of Durant. Ethnic Studies graduates of Southeastern Oklahoma State University earn a median of about $62,250 a year early in their careers.
A rank of #4 makes Cuny Graduate School And University Center one of the highest-paying schools for ethnic studies. Located in the city of New York, Cuny Graduate School And University Center is a public institution. Students who complete the ethnic studies program here go on to a median salary of roughly $51,133.
Strong graduate earnings at University Of California Los Angeles earned it the #5 place for ethnic studies. University Of California Los Angeles is a public school located in the city of Los Angeles. After graduating, ethnic studies degree recipients from University Of California Los Angeles typically earn about $45,247 annually.
This ranking is produced by College Factual, 2026 edition. Schools are ranked on the median early-career earnings of their ethnic studies graduates, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).
Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 5 schools evaluated.
*Salary figures reflect median early-career earnings (about 5 years after graduation) and may vary by how long a person takes to complete their degree.
More about our data sources and methodologies.