The national average starting salary for a four-year degree graduate in 2026 sits around $64,000 to $68,000, according to NACE's Winter 2026 Salary Survey.
That number means almost nothing on its own.
A nursing grad in Houston and an education grad in rural Kentucky are both in that "average." They have completely different offers, completely different cost-of-living contexts, and completely different paths to their first paycheck. The average flattens all of that into a single useless figure.
What actually matters: what does your specific major pay, in your target industry, in the region you're planning to work in? That's the number to anchor your expectations and your negotiations on.
Here's the data, organized to be useful.
The Core Data: Starting Salaries by Major, 2026
All figures below represent base salary only -- no bonuses, equity, or benefits included. Source: NACE Winter 2026 Salary Survey combined with 2026 labor market data from BLS, Glassdoor, and Payscale. Ranges reflect the realistic spread for bachelor's degree holders in entry-level roles at median employers (not Big Tech outliers, not rural nonprofits).
Technology and Computer Science
| Major / Role | Typical Starting Salary Range | NACE Category Average |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineering | $75,000 -- $105,000 | $81,535 |
| Computer Science (general) | $70,000 -- $95,000 | $81,535 |
| Data Science / Analytics | $70,000 -- $95,000 | $81,535 |
| Information Systems / IT | $60,000 -- $80,000 | $81,535 |
| Cybersecurity | $65,000 -- $85,000 | $81,535 |
What moves the number in tech: Internship experience matters more here than in almost any other field. A CS grad with two internships at recognizable companies will see offers 15-25% above a classmate without them. Location is a major multiplier -- San Francisco and Seattle packages run 20-35% above national averages, though cost of living offsets much of that gain. AI/ML specialization commands a premium even at the entry level.
Ceiling note: Top-tier tech firms (large public companies, high-growth startups) offer total compensation packages -- base + signing bonus + equity -- that can push first-year all-in compensation to $130,000-$175,000+ for exceptional candidates. These are real numbers but they represent a narrow slice of the market. Most CS grads land somewhere between $75,000 and $95,000 base in their first role.
Engineering
| Major | Typical Starting Salary Range | NACE Category Average |
|---|---|---|
| Petroleum Engineering | $95,000 -- $110,000+ | ~$100,750 |
| Chemical Engineering | $75,000 -- $95,000 | ~$81,198 |
| Electrical Engineering | $70,000 -- $95,000 | ~$81,198 |
| Computer Engineering | $72,000 -- $95,000 | ~$81,198 |
| Aerospace Engineering | $72,000 -- $88,000 | ~$81,198 |
| Mechanical Engineering | $65,000 -- $80,000 | ~$81,198 |
| Civil Engineering | $60,000 -- $77,000 | ~$81,198 |
| Industrial Engineering | $65,000 -- $82,000 | ~$81,198 |
| Environmental Engineering | $58,000 -- $74,000 | ~$81,198 |
What moves the number in engineering: Industry sector matters enormously. An aerospace engineering grad going into defense or aviation earns more than one going into manufacturing. Civil engineers in the public sector (government infrastructure projects) typically start 10-15% below private sector peers. PE (Professional Engineer) licensure is a long-term salary accelerator but does not affect first-year pay directly.
Business and Finance
| Major | Typical Starting Salary Range |
|---|---|
| Finance (general) | $55,000 -- $70,000 |
| Investment Banking (analyst) | $80,000 -- $100,000 base (plus significant bonus) |
| Accounting | $52,000 -- $65,000 |
| Business Administration / Management | $50,000 -- $68,000 |
| Marketing | $45,000 -- $60,000 |
| Supply Chain / Operations | $55,000 -- $72,000 |
| Human Resources | $45,000 -- $58,000 |
| Economics | $55,000 -- $72,000 |
NACE's overall business category average sits at $68,873 for Class of 2026 -- up 5.5% from the prior year.
What moves the number in business: Firm type is the biggest variable. Investment banking and management consulting (firms like McKinsey, Bain, BCG) pay first-year analysts dramatically more than most other business roles -- $80,000-$100,000+ base before bonus. But those represent a tiny fraction of business hiring. A marketing coordinator at a regional company is looking at $42,000-$50,000. Both are "business" graduates.
Accounting is the most predictable of the business tracks -- Big Four starting salaries (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) tend to cluster in the $62,000-$72,000 range depending on service line and city.
Healthcare and Life Sciences
| Major | Typical Starting Salary Range |
|---|---|
| Nursing (BSN) | $60,000 -- $90,000 |
| Pharmacy (PharmD) | $95,000 -- $125,000 |
| Public Health | $42,000 -- $58,000 |
| Biology / Biochemistry | $38,000 -- $55,000 |
| Pre-Med / Health Sciences | $40,000 -- $55,000 |
| Exercise Science / Kinesiology | $35,000 -- $50,000 |
What moves the number in healthcare: Setting is everything for nursing. Hospital-based RNs (especially ICU, ER, or procedural specialties) start significantly above clinic or outpatient nurses. California, New York, and Washington state have some of the highest nursing wages in the country due to legislative minimums and union density.
Biology and biochemistry as standalone bachelor's degrees have modest starting salaries because most of the high-paying paths in life sciences require a graduate degree (MD, PhD, PharmD). The bachelor's degree is frequently a stepping stone, not a destination.
Math and Sciences
| Major | Typical Starting Salary Range | NACE Category Average |
|---|---|---|
| Applied Mathematics / Statistics | $65,000 -- $85,000 | $74,184 |
| Data Analytics | $60,000 -- $80,000 | $74,184 |
| Physics | $55,000 -- $75,000 | $74,184 |
| Chemistry | $48,000 -- $65,000 | $74,184 |
NACE's math and sciences category average for Class of 2026 is $74,184 -- up 6.4% year over year, reflecting continued demand for quantitative skills.
Humanities, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts
| Major | Typical Starting Salary Range |
|---|---|
| Psychology | $38,000 -- $52,000 |
| Communications / Media | $38,000 -- $55,000 |
| English / Writing | $35,000 -- $50,000 |
| Political Science | $40,000 -- $58,000 |
| History | $35,000 -- $48,000 |
| Sociology | $35,000 -- $50,000 |
| Philosophy | $38,000 -- $52,000 |
| International Relations | $42,000 -- $58,000 |
| Social Work (BSW) | $38,000 -- $52,000 |
| Criminal Justice | $38,000 -- $50,000 |
NACE's social sciences category is the only major group projected to see a decrease in starting salaries in 2026 (-1.7%). That's a meaningful signal about the current labor market for these fields.
What moves the number in liberal arts: Industry destination matters more than the degree itself. A psychology grad who lands a role in HR analytics at a tech company will out-earn a psychology grad in a counseling role by a substantial margin. Communications majors in tech or healthcare PR earn more than those in traditional media. The degree is often a vehicle -- the industry you land in does most of the salary work.
The skills gap is also more pronounced here. Liberal arts grads who can demonstrate quantitative skills (data analysis, SQL, financial modeling) alongside their degree consistently see offers at the higher end of these ranges.
Education
| Major | Typical Starting Salary Range |
|---|---|
| Elementary Education | $33,000 -- $45,000 |
| Secondary Education | $35,000 -- $48,000 |
| Special Education | $38,000 -- $50,000 |
| Early Childhood Education | $28,000 -- $40,000 |
Teaching salaries are set by state and district -- not by employers negotiating in the market. Starting pay depends almost entirely on where you accept a position. States like California, New York, New Jersey, and Washington offer significantly higher starting teacher salaries than most others. District negotiations and union contracts matter more than your individual qualifications.
What Actually Moves Your Starting Salary
The major is the starting point. Four other factors determine where you land within that range.
1. Internship Experience
This is the single biggest salary lever. Graduates with relevant, paid internship experience receive offers averaging 15-20% higher than peers without it. The return offer -- where a company hires you full-time after an internship -- tends to come with the strongest packages because you've already proven yourself.
For any major, one well-targeted internship matters more than GPA for salary outcomes.
2. Location
City-level salary differences are dramatic. San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Boston, and Washington D.C. all carry premiums of 20-40% above national averages for comparable roles. That premium partially offsets higher costs of living -- but not always fully. Before optimizing for highest nominal salary, model your actual take-home after rent, taxes, and living costs.
3. Company Size and Type
Large employers, public companies, and well-funded startups pay more at the entry level than small businesses and nonprofits. Not because small companies are worse -- often the learning curve is steeper and more valuable there -- but because compensation structures differ fundamentally. Investment banks pay more than regional banks. Fortune 500 marketing teams pay more than regional agencies.
4. Industry
A business degree going into tech pays more than the same degree going into education. A communications degree in healthcare PR pays more than the same degree at a local radio station. The industry you enter in your first job is often more predictive of your five-year earnings trajectory than the exact role you take.
What "Good" Actually Means for Your Offer
Here's a more useful question than "what is average": is this specific offer fair for this specific role, in this specific city, at this type of company?
How to check:
- Look up the role title and city on Glassdoor, Levels.fyi (for tech roles), and Payscale. Don't rely on any single source.
- Check if any alumni from your school are in similar roles -- the LinkedIn alumni tool is directly useful here.
- Ask your university career center for its most recent first-destination survey data. Most publish this annually.
- Compare base salary, signing bonus, and benefits together. A $58,000 offer with full benefits, tuition reimbursement, and a $5,000 signing bonus at a company in a low-cost-of-living city can match or exceed a $68,000 base in San Francisco with nothing else.
An offer is "good" when it's competitive for the role and location, not when it matches a national average that doesn't account for any of your actual circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average starting salary for a college graduate in 2026?
NACE's Winter 2026 Salary Survey projects an overall average starting salary of approximately $64,000-$68,000 for bachelor's degree recipients. But this average masks enormous variation by major, industry, and location. Computer science and engineering majors average above $80,000; education and social work majors often start below $45,000.
Which college majors pay the most right out of graduation?
Petroleum engineering leads individual majors at around $100,750. Computer science and engineering broadly average around $81,000-$82,000 per NACE 2026 projections. Applied math and statistics, data analytics, and finance are the next highest-paying groups.
Which majors have the lowest starting salaries?
Early childhood education, social work, and counseling-track psychology consistently have the lowest starting salaries -- often $32,000-$45,000 nationally. These fields are also the most affected by geographic location and employer type.
Does your GPA affect your starting salary?
For the first job, yes -- but mainly as a screening filter, not a direct salary driver. Finance, consulting, and accounting firms often filter applications below 3.5 or 3.7 GPA before interviews begin. Once you pass the threshold, GPA has diminishing influence. After your first two years of professional experience, GPA is largely irrelevant.
Does an internship actually raise your starting salary?
Yes, demonstrably. NACE data consistently shows graduates with relevant paid internship experience receive more offers and higher starting compensation than those without. The effect is most pronounced in business, tech, and finance. In some fields like law and consulting, a summer internship leading to a return offer is the primary hiring pipeline.
Should I negotiate my starting salary as a new grad?
Yes. Most employers expect it and have built room for negotiation into the initial offer. Even a 5-10% negotiation on a $60,000 offer is $3,000-$6,000 more per year that compounds over time. The floor risk is low -- offers are rarely rescinded because a candidate negotiated professionally. For a step-by-step approach, see our entry-level salary negotiation guide.
Does the type of company matter more than the major?
In many cases, yes. A liberal arts major at a top consulting firm will out-earn an engineering major at a small manufacturing company. Industry and company type interact with your major to determine your actual offer. Major sets your baseline range; everything else determines where you land within it.
