2021 Highest Paid Music Graduates
Finding the Best Music School for You
Music is the #34 most popular major in the country with 15,747 bachelor's degrees awarded in 2018-2019.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Highest Paid Music Graduates ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
This year's Highest Paid Music Graduates ranking looked at 148 colleges that offer a bachelor's in music.
The numbers used in this ranking are early career salaries, which we define to be 10 years after 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.
How Much Do Music Majors Make After Graduation?
After graduating, music majors that go to school in the United States go on to jobs making an average of $25,137 per year. Unfortunately, that is 37% less than the average salary of a typical college graduate. However, graduates from the schools below may make more than this.
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2021 Highest Paid Music Grads in the United States
The following colleges produce the highest paid music graduates.
Top 25 Best Schools for Highly Paid Music Graduates
University of Houston comes in at #1 in this year's ranking. UH is a very large public school located in the city of Houston. The average salary for a student who gets a bachelor's degree in music from the school is $49,200.
On average, music graduates from UH take out $25,424 in student loans while working on their bachelor's degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $280.
Southern Methodist University earned the #1 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
While working on their bachelor's, music majors at SMU accumulate an average of around $22,067 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $240.
Harvard University comes in at #2 in this year's ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley earned the #2 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the small city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public school with a very large student population. Music majors who obtain their bachelor's from the school make an average salary of $49,100.
After completing their bachelor's degree, music graduates from UT Rio Grande Valley carry an average student debtload of $15,804. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $163.
The University of Texas at San Antonio comes in at #3 in this year's ranking. Located in the large city of San Antonio, UTSA is a public college with a very large student population. Upon graduating with a bachelor's degree, music majors make an average salary of $42,300.
On average, music graduates from UTSA take out $30,487 in student loans while working on their bachelor's degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $322.
Boston College earned the #3 spot in our 2021 rankings. Boston College is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chestnut Hill.
Music majors at Boston College take out an average of $12,859 in student loans while working on their bachelor's degree.
Texas Tech University earned the #4 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large city of Lubbock, Texas Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population. Music majors who obtain their bachelor's from the school make an average salary of $41,400.
On average, music graduates from Texas Tech take out $26,580 in student loans while working on their bachelor's degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $280.
Princeton University comes in at #4 in this year's ranking. Princeton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Princeton.
Yale University comes in at #5 in this year's ranking. Located in the city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Texas State University earned the #5 spot in our 2021 rankings. Texas State is a very large public school located in the city of San Marcos. Music majors who obtain their bachelor's from the school make an average salary of $41,300.
On average, music graduates from Texas State take out $26,732 in student loans while working on their bachelor's degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $295.
St Lawrence University landed the #6 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid music school. Located in the remote town of Canton, St. Lawrence is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Stephen F Austin State University landed the #6 spot in our 2021 rankings for highest paid music school. Located in the remote town of Nacogdoches, SFASU is a public school with a large student population. The average salary for a student who gets a bachelor's degree in music from the school is $40,600.
The average amount in student loans that music majors at SFASU take out while working on their bachelor's is $24,790. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $252.
Read full report on Music at Stephen F Austin State University
Texas A&M University - Commerce earned the #7 spot in our 2021 rankings. Texas A&M Commerce is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Commerce. Music majors who obtain their bachelor's from the school make an average salary of $40,200.
While working on their bachelor's, music majors at Texas A&M Commerce accumulate an average of around $21,165 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $242.
Kenyon College comes in at #7 in this year's ranking. Kenyon is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Gambier.
After completing their bachelor's degree, music graduates from Kenyon carry an average student debtload of $15,475.
The #8 spot in this year's ranking belongs to University of Pennsylvania. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Our rankings recognize West Texas A&M University as the #8 school in this year's rankings. Located in the fringe town of Canyon, West Texas A&M University is a public college with a medium-sized student population. Upon graduating with a bachelor's degree, music majors make an average salary of $39,600.
On average, music graduates from West Texas A&M University take out $24,177 in student loans while working on their bachelor's degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $263.
Our rankings recognize Sam Houston State University as the #9 school in this year's rankings. Located in the distant town of Huntsville, SHSU is a public school with a very large student population. Music majors who obtain their bachelor's from the school make an average salary of $38,800.
The average amount in student loans that music majors at SHSU take out while working on their bachelor's is $23,311. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $220.
Cornell University comes in at #9 in this year's ranking. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Our rankings recognize Stanford University as the #10 school in this year's rankings. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.
University of Nevada - Las Vegas comes in at #10 in this year's ranking. Located in the city of Las Vegas, UNLV is a public college with a fairly large student population. Upon graduating with a bachelor's degree, music majors make an average salary of $38,700.
While working on their bachelor's, music majors at UNLV accumulate an average of around $29,293 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $295.
The #11 spot in this year's ranking belongs to University of North Texas. UNT is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Denton. Music majors who obtain their bachelor's from the school make an average salary of $38,100.
Music majors at UNT take out an average of $23,581 in student loans while working on their bachelor's degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $270.
Brown University earned the #11 spot in our 2021 rankings. Brown is a large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Providence.
While working on their bachelor's, music majors at Brown accumulate an average of around $11,778 in student debt.
Columbia University in the City of New York comes in at #12 in this year's ranking. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
Our rankings recognize Michigan State University as the #12 school in this year's rankings. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing. Music majors who obtain their bachelor's from the school make an average salary of $38,100.
Music majors at Michigan State take out an average of $24,220 in student loans while working on their bachelor's degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $284.
The #13 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Dartmouth College. Located in the remote town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Rest of the Top Schools for Highest Paid Music Graduates
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Music students seeking high pay that almost earned our Highest Paid Music Graduates award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Grand Valley State University | Allendale, MI |
| 27 | Western Illinois University | Macomb, IL |
| 28 | Rowan University | Glassboro, NJ |
| 29 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro, NC |
| 24 | University of South Carolina - Columbia | Columbia, SC |
| 25 | Tufts University | Medford, MA |
| 25 | Luther College | Decorah, IA |
Music by Region
View the Highest Paid Music Graduates for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
Rankings in Majors Related to Music
One of 9 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Music has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Fine & Studio Arts | 25,815 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 19,137 |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 12,791 |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 11,308 |
| General Visual & Performing Arts | 3,315 |
View All Music 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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