You and your coworkers probably only spend a little time talking about money during lunch. Because of this, it's hard to know if you're ahead of the curve or overdue for a raise.

However, you may see how your earnings stack up against the national average using one of the many available websites.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reports that the median household income in the United States in 2020 was $35,805. Many variables contribute to the large variety of individual incomes.

Education level

According to data compiled by the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) of the United States of America, those with greater levels of education can anticipate higher wages and lower unemployment rates.

Education, social work, the arts, and religious vocations are some of the lowest-paying college degrees.

Careers of the future, and how to get trained for them

Earning a graduate degree in the same field usually pays off. Specifically, the Economic Value of College Majors report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce found that the average salary of a worker with a master's degree in health and medical preparatory programmes was 137% higher than that of a worker with a bachelor's degree in the same field of study.

Options Other Than University

This means that it's only sometimes worthwhile to take on additional debt to pursue an advanced degree.

There may be a correlation between the level of education and salary. College earnings statistics for your major can be compared across institutions using the College Scorecard provided by the United States Department of Education.

Should I pursue a master's degree?

Ability to do something

Throughout your career, you may expect your pay to increase at varying rates depending on your level of expertise, which is often correlated with age.

This explains why starting salaries are lower than average salaries. Midway through a person's career (between the ages of 35 and 44), they often see the greatest gains. Salary growth slows down in one's latter working years.

For instance, according to Georgetown University's Center for Education and the Workforce (CEW), a student majoring in a STEM field should expect a higher salary growth throughout their career. The median wage is $60,000 for those between the ages of 25 and 34, and it rises to $90,000 for those between the ages of 45 and 59. Those who choose a health-related major can expect to earn $53,000 between the ages of 25 and 34 and $72,000 between the ages of 45 and 59.

Location

Wages can also vary greatly from one geographic region to the next. The Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University reports that bachelor's degree holders in Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, and Virginia had the highest median annual wages. Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, and Vermont have the lowest lifetime incomes for bachelor's degree holders.

According to federal data, the earnings for college graduates in urban regions also tend to be greater than in rural ones.

The availability of retraining opportunities for workers

Demographics

Gender and racial differences in incomes also persist. This reduces potential wages over a lifetime and can make it harder for individuals to pay off student loans, even if they are in the same field or profession as their peers.

The National Center for Education Statistics has collated the most recent data on the median earnings gap between races and genders by the level of education.

Average first-year salaries in various fields

According to research from the National Association of Colleges and Employers in 2021, the typical starting wage for a recent college grad in 2020 was $55,260.

The College Scorecard provides information on starting earnings for various majors. To see the average salary for your major or profession, look it up in the table below.

Rather than relying on averages, which might be misleading, comparing salaries using the median or the middle number in that list of earnings is better. Outliers, both high and low, can skew salary data.

Tools for learning about and comparing salary ranges

This summary only scratches the surface of the available information on colleges, careers, and incomes. The following resources can help you obtain information that is relevant to your specific area and circumstances:

Additional details about several careers: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Additional information on the results of college programmes: College Scorecard, published by the United States Department of Education.