College graduates who earned a bachelor's degree in 2021 saw a modest salary increase compared to the previous class. Their overall average salary is $55,911, which is 1.2% higher than the average for the class of 2020, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
"The fact that the increase in starting salary is small may simply be a case of timing, as the class of 2021 was still experiencing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the job market," says Shawn VanDerziel, executive director of the association. "Vaccines were not readily available to the public until early 2021, so the job market for new college graduates was not as robust as it currently is."
Recommended For You
For example, employers planned to hire 7.2% more graduates from the class of 2021 than they did from the class of 2020. Just one year later, the planned hiring increase for the class of 2022 exceeded 30%.
Computer and information sciences are the highest paid fields for the class of 2021, with an overall average salary of $81,202. However, the overall average starting salary is up by less than 1%, compared to an average of $80,477 in 2020.
Among the other top-paying fields of study:
- Salaries for engineering graduates dropped by 0.8%, from $72,115 to $71,516.
- Mathematics and statistics graduates saw salaries increase by 1.6%, from $67,882 to $68,929.
- Business majors experienced the largest increase, from $55,572 to $57,186, or 2.9%.
- Salaries for health professions and related programs rose by 1.4%from $52,369 to $54,133.
Related: The rise in compensation: What employers need to know to attract top talent
The figures reported are for base salaries only and do not include bonuses, commissions, benefits or overtime,
The National Association of Colleges and Employers connects more than 9,800 college career services professionals, more than 3,300 university relations and recruiting professionals, and more than 300 business solution providers that serve this community.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Alan Goforth
Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.
