Which state pays philosophy bachelor's graduates the most?

Texas, where the median program pays its graduates $33,645 in their first year, the highest of 4 state rankings. New York is next, at $33,339.

Which philosophy bachelor's program pays the most?

UPenn in Pennsylvania reports the highest first-year pay of the 74 programs ranked here, $73,053. Its median federal debt is $18,500.

How much debt do philosophy bachelor's graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $22,584 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 67% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Philosophy (Bachelor's) Programs in the US

74 programs report first-year pay
4 state rankings
Bachelor's in Philosophy

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median philosophy bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $30,894 in their first year and $54,937 five years after. Texas has the highest state median ($33,645), and California the lowest ($29,326). The median program leaves its graduates with $22,584 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$30,894Across 74 programs

Median pay after 5 years$54,937Across 78 programs

Median federal debt$22,584Across 102 programs

Debt-to-earnings67%Across 67 programs

All 74 programs, ranked by graduate pay

Each program is ranked by the median pay of its graduates one year after they finished, from College Scorecard. This measures what graduates earn, not how good the teaching is. Pay also depends on where graduates live and work. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	After cost of living	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	UPennPhiladelphia, PA · private nonprofit	$73,053	Not adjusted	Not reported	$18,500	25%
2	Columbia UniversityNew York, NY · private nonprofit	$52,668	Not adjusted	$33,503	$20,062	38%
3	Boston CollegeChestnut Hill, MA · private nonprofit	$47,345	Not adjusted	$56,428	$18,000	38%
4	Utah Valley UniversityOrem, UT · public	$43,699	$44,201	Not reported	$15,636	36%
5	Lehman CollegeBronx, NY · public	$43,311	$40,132	Not reported	$18,700	43%
6	SMUDallas, TX · private nonprofit	$42,334	Not adjusted	Not reported	$21,500	51%
7	University of WashingtonSeattle, WA · public	$42,072	$39,315	$51,685	$13,500	32%
8	Tulane University of LouisianaNew Orleans, LA · private nonprofit	$41,032	Not adjusted	$53,219	$20,000	49%
9	UT AustinAustin, TX · public	$40,881	$42,121	$55,022	$18,676	46%
10	Boston UniversityBoston, MA · private nonprofit	$40,377	Not adjusted	Not reported	$25,750	64%
11	NYUNew York, NY · private nonprofit	$40,359	Not adjusted	$76,802	$24,128	60%
12	ASUTempe, AZ · public	$40,286	$40,015	$58,158	$26,250	65%
13	RutgersNew Brunswick, NJ · public	$40,113	$36,867	$62,015	$25,000	62%
14	Ohio StateColumbus, OH · public	$39,971	$43,084	$47,850	$26,247	66%
15	Gettysburg CollegeGettysburg, PA · private nonprofit	$38,544	Not adjusted	Not reported	$26,000	67%
16	USCLos Angeles, CA · private nonprofit	$38,380	$34,664	$95,023	$11,491	30%
17	University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI · public	$37,885	Not adjusted	$74,182	$21,510	57%
18	UNTDenton, TX · public	$37,231	Not adjusted	$42,179	$17,750	48%
19	UMass BostonBoston, MA · public	$36,581	Not adjusted	$56,416	Not reported	Not reported
20	UC BerkeleyBerkeley, CA · public	$36,355	$32,835	$55,247	$14,475	40%
21	CU DenverDenver, CO · public	$36,307	Not adjusted	Not reported	$31,000	85%
22	UW-MadisonMadison, WI · public	$35,975	$38,233	$56,645	$24,216	67%
23	University of MarylandCollege Park, MD · public	$35,608	Not adjusted	$59,449	$20,164	57%
24	Syracuse UniversitySyracuse, NY · private nonprofit	$35,602	Not adjusted	Not reported	$23,250	65%
25	UCFOrlando, FL · public	$35,179	$34,018	Not reported	$19,875	56%
26	UW-MilwaukeeMilwaukee, WI · public	$34,666	$36,841	$47,729	$25,500	74%
27	University of ArizonaTucson, AZ · public	$34,289	$34,058	$56,983	$21,250	62%
28	UNC Chapel HillChapel Hill, NC · public	$34,284	$36,346	$59,952	$15,408	45%
29	City College of New YorkNew York, NY · public	$33,339	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
30	UC DavisDavis, CA · public	$32,749	$29,578	Not reported	$13,200	40%
31	University of ScrantonScranton, PA · private nonprofit	$32,513	Not adjusted	$66,660	$27,000	83%
32	UCCSColorado Springs, CO · public	$32,480	$31,518	$36,118	$28,495	88%
33	Franciscan University of SteubenvilleSteubenville, OH · private nonprofit	$32,165	Not adjusted	Not reported	$25,000	78%
34	UW-Stevens PointStevens Point, WI · public	$31,662	$33,649	Not reported	$23,380	74%
35	University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, MN · public	$31,652	$32,095	$66,564	$21,500	68%
36	FIUMiami, FL · public	$31,583	Not adjusted	$51,471	$13,134	42%
37	University of South CarolinaColumbia, SC · public	$30,936	Not adjusted	Not reported	$25,000	81%
38	John Jay CollegeNew York, NY · public	$30,851	Not adjusted	$51,730	Not reported	Not reported
39	UC Santa CruzSanta Cruz, CA · public	$30,285	$27,353	$50,265	$15,832	52%
40	UCLALos Angeles, CA · public	$30,182	$27,260	$53,585	$15,000	50%
41	Cal State FullertonFullerton, CA · public	$30,171	$27,250	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
42	Texas A&MCollege Station, TX · public	$30,058	$30,969	$61,055	$19,000	63%
43	San Diego StateSan Diego, CA · public	$29,712	$26,835	Not reported	$27,000	91%
44	Sacramento StateSacramento, CA · public	$29,326	$26,487	$37,380	$15,034	51%
45	UNC CharlotteCharlotte, NC · public	$29,251	$31,011	Not reported	$25,000	85%
46	Temple UniversityPhiladelphia, PA · public	$28,648	$29,361	$46,994	$25,000	87%
47	San Francisco StateSan Francisco, CA · public	$28,539	$25,776	$55,124	$18,000	63%
48	Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn, NY · public	$27,926	$25,876	$41,431	$14,125	51%
49	Texas StateSan Marcos, TX · public	$27,893	$28,739	Not reported	$26,000	93%
50	Colorado StateFort Collins, CO · public	$27,810	Not adjusted	Not reported	$18,894	68%
51	University of OregonEugene, OR · public	$27,640	$26,741	$34,383	$26,000	94%
52	College of WoosterWooster, OH · private nonprofit	$27,174	Not adjusted	Not reported	$25,000	92%
53	Florida StateTallahassee, FL · public	$27,072	$26,178	$53,843	$25,359	94%
54	University of New MexicoAlbuquerque, NM · public	$26,205	$28,418	$43,565	$24,095	92%
55	VCURichmond, VA · public	$26,192	$25,906	Not reported	$21,500	82%
56	Slippery Rock University of PennsylvaniaSlippery Rock, PA · public	$25,869	Not adjusted	Not reported	$27,000	104%
57	Binghamton UniversityVestal, NY · public	$25,626	$23,745	Not reported	$26,000	101%
58	UC Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA · public	$25,303	$22,853	$65,351	$15,000	59%
59	UC RiversideRiverside, CA · public	$25,171	$22,734	$61,942	$19,022	76%
60	UC San DiegoLa Jolla, CA · public	$24,669	$22,281	Not reported	$15,832	64%
61	Portland StatePortland, OR · public	$24,124	$23,340	$38,776	$24,072	100%
62	University of FloridaGainesville, FL · public	$24,048	$23,254	$69,827	$17,217	72%
63	Southern Illinois University EdwardsvilleEdwardsville, IL · public	$23,219	Not adjusted	Not reported	$24,362	105%
64	UIUCChampaign, IL · public	$21,824	Not adjusted	Not reported	$18,750	86%
65	USFTampa, FL · public	$21,168	$20,469	$57,476	Not reported	Not reported
66	UC IrvineIrvine, CA · public	$20,922	$18,896	$55,157	$23,705	113%
67	CSUNNorthridge, CA · public	$20,822	$18,806	$49,662	Not reported	Not reported
68	Fresno StateFresno, CA · public	$20,354	$18,383	Not reported	$15,000	74%
69	UNC GreensboroGreensboro, NC · public	$20,287	Not adjusted	Not reported	$22,527	111%
70	LSUBaton Rouge, LA · public	$20,222	$22,926	$50,495	$19,875	98%
71	Penn StateUniversity Park, PA · public	$17,881	Not adjusted	$63,726	$23,878	134%
72	John Carroll UniversityUniversity Heights, OH · private nonprofit	$17,813	Not adjusted	Not reported	$27,000	152%
73	UTRGVEdinburg, TX · public	$14,151	$14,580	Not reported	$13,000	92%
74	Hunter CollegeNew York, NY · public	$10,363	$9,602	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported

Pay after cost of living divides first-year pay by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level of the school's state, where the US average is 100. It is shown for 46 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 28, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

7 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked.

Philosophy (Bachelor's) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's philosophy bachelor's programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

#	State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
1	Texas	6	$33,645	$19,771
2	New York	9	$33,339	$23,125
3	Pennsylvania	6	$30,581	$26,000
4	California	15	$29,326	$15,832

Programs in 19 more states and territories report pay, but too few to rank. A state ranking needs at least five programs that report both pay and debt.

Quick picks nationwide

Lowest median debt

USC, CA$11,491
UTRGV, TX$13,000
UC Davis, CA$13,200
Brooklyn College, NY$14,125
UC Berkeley, CA$14,475
UCLA, CA$15,000
UC Santa Barbara, CA$15,000
Fresno State, CA$15,000
Sacramento State, CA$15,034
UC Santa Cruz, CA$15,832

Lowest debt for the pay

UPenn, PA25%
USC, CA30%
Columbia University, NY38%
UC Berkeley, CA40%
UC Davis, CA40%
Lehman College, NY43%
UT Austin, TX46%
UNT, TX48%
UCLA, CA50%
Brooklyn College, NY51%

Only the 31 programs with their own page here are included. "Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to philosophy, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Natural Sciences Managers

$167,220

Median pay in the US. 108,690 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $79,710Top 10%: $316,850

Mathematicians

$126,710

Median pay in the US. 2,030 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 100 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $69,240Top 10%: $195,190

Common questions

The median philosophy bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $30,894 in their first year and $54,937 five years after.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
National medians include every program in the 50 states, DC, and US territories, including schools that have since closed. Schools with several campuses that report one combined figure are counted once.
Programs are ranked by College Scorecard median pay one year after graduation. Pay after cost of living uses the price level of the school's state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024