2021 Highest Paid History Graduates
Finding the Best History School for You
History is the #19 most popular major in the country with 25,943 bachelor's degrees awarded in 2018-2019.
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Highest Paid History list to help you make the college decision.
For this year's Highest Paid History Graduates ranking, we looked at 331 colleges that offer a bachelor's in history.
In this ranking, we use early career salaries - salaries 10 years from when a student started college. This is the salary typically earned 4-6 years after graduation, but may be different depending on how long a person takes to complete their degree.
Comparing Average Salaries of History Majors
After graduating, history majors that go to school in the United States go on to jobs making an average of $28,971 per year. Unfortunately, that is 27% less than the average salary of a typical college graduate. However, graduates from the schools below may make more than this.
College Combat
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Featured History Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
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BA in History
Gain a rich foundation of knowledge ranging from early history to modern times with this online bachelor's degree in history from Southern New Hampshire University. Learn More > |
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MA in History
The online Master of Arts in History degree program can deepen your understanding of how history is made. Learn More > |
2021 Highest Paid History Grads in the United States
Learn more about the colleges and universities that produce the highest paid history graduates.
Top 25 Best Schools for Highly Paid History Graduates
Duke University earned the #1 spot in our 2021 rankings. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.
University of Pennsylvania landed the #2 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid history school. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
Cornell University landed the #2 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid history school. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca.
Harvard University earned the #3 spot in our 2021 rankings. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
Princeton University landed the #3 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid history school. Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
Rice University comes in at #4 in this year's ranking. Rice is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Houston.
The #5 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Dartmouth College. Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the town of Hanover.
Bates College comes in at #6 in this year's ranking. Located in the city of Lewiston, Bates is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Yale University landed the #7 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid history school. Yale is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Haven.
Williams College landed the #8 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid history school. Located in the fringe town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Our rankings recognize Marist College as the #8 school in this year's rankings. Marist is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Poughkeepsie.
The #9 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Brown University. Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
American Public University System comes in at #10 in this year's ranking. Located in the fringe town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.
Kenyon College landed the #11 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid history school. Located in the town of Gambier, Kenyon is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Our rankings recognize Columbia University in the City of New York as the #11 school in this year's rankings. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
Full History at Columbia University in the City of New York Report
Our rankings recognize College of the Holy Cross as the #12 school in this year's rankings. Located in the midsize city of Worcester, Holy Cross is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Our rankings recognize Denison University as the #13 school in this year's rankings. Located in the suburb of Granville, Denison is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The #13 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Boston College. Located in the city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
University of Notre Dame comes in at #14 in this year's ranking. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.
The #14 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Stanford University. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
New York University comes in at #15 in this year's ranking. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
The #16 spot in this year's ranking belongs to University of Virginia - Main Campus. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The #17 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Fordham University. Fordham U is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Bronx.
Providence College landed the #18 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid history school. Located in the medium-sized city of Providence, Providence is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater earned the #19 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the distant town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Rest of the Top Schools for Highest Paid History Graduates
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for History students seeking high pay that almost earned our Highest Paid History Graduates award.
Rank | College | Location |
---|---|---|
50 | The College of New Jersey | Ewing, NJ |
51 | Old Dominion University | Norfolk, VA |
52 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte, NC |
53 | Baylor University | Waco, TX |
54 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA |
55 | California State University - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
56 | Southern New Hampshire University | Manchester, NH |
57 | Syracuse University | Syracuse, NY |
58 | University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder, CO |
59 | Tulane University of Louisiana | New Orleans, LA |
60 | University of Central Oklahoma | Edmond, OK |
61 | University at Albany | Albany, NY |
62 | Colgate University | Hamilton, NY |
63 | College of William and Mary | Williamsburg, VA |
64 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
65 | North Dakota State University - Main Campus | Fargo, ND |
66 | Angelo State University | San Angelo, TX |
24 | Citadel Military College of South Carolina | Charleston, SC |
25 | Northwestern University | Evanston, IL |
History by Region
View the Highest Paid History Graduates for a specific region near you.
Region |
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Southeast |
New England |
Rocky Mountains |
Plains States |
Middle Atlantic |
Far Western US |
Southwest |
Great Lakes |
Rankings in Majors Related to History
History Majors to Study
Major | Annual Graduates |
---|---|
History | 25,943 |
View All History Related Majors >
Majors Similar to History
Related Major | Annual Graduates |
---|---|
Social Sciences | 154,751 |
Psychology | 123,980 |
Communication & Journalism | 96,549 |
Education | 88,927 |
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences | 24,420 |
View All History Related Majors >
Notes and References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Abraham Ortelius.
More about our data sources and methodologies.