Top 10 College Majors for 2025: Salaries, Jobs & AI Impact
Explore the 10 most popular college majors for 2025 with salary data, job outlooks, and AI impact ratings to help your student choose the right career path.
Choosing a college major is one of the biggest decisions your student will make. With enrollment surging and the job market shifting fast, the data from Fall 2024 and early 2025 salary projections tell a clear story about where the opportunities are and where students should think twice.
This guide breaks down the ten most popular college majors by enrollment, starting salary, job outlook, and how artificial intelligence is likely to reshape each field in the years ahead.
2024-2025 Enrollment Snapshot
Before diving into the rankings, here is a look at the big picture for U.S. postsecondary enrollment:
- Total postsecondary enrollment: 19.28 million (a 4.5% increase from 2023)
- First-year enrollment: Surged 5.5%
- Bachelor's degrees: Grew 2.9%
- Associate degrees: Climbed 6.3%
- Employer hiring plans: 7.3% increase for the Class of 2025
More students are enrolling, and more employers are hiring. That is great news. But the gap between the highest-paying and lowest-paying majors is wider than ever, which makes choosing wisely even more important.
Enrollment is up across the board, but salary outcomes vary dramatically by major. Helping your student understand these differences early in high school can shape better college planning decisions down the road.
The Top 10 College Majors for 2025
1. Business
Business remains the single most popular undergraduate major in the United States. With 5.37% of all enrollment, it attracts students who want flexibility across industries.
- Starting salary: $65,276
- Employer demand: Highest of all majors
- Best specializations: Finance, supply chain management, data analytics
Business graduates land roles in consulting, operations, marketing, and finance. The breadth of this degree is both its strength and its weakness. Students who pair it with a technical minor or strong internship experience tend to stand out.
2. Health Professions
Healthcare is the fastest-growing segment of undergraduate enrollment, and for good reason. The U.S. faces a persistent shortage of nurses, therapists, and allied health professionals.
- Starting salary: $64,000+ for nursing graduates
- Projected annual job openings: 1.9 million
- Growth driver: Aging population and expanded access to care
If your student is drawn to science and wants strong job security, health professions are hard to beat. Programs in nursing, physical therapy, and health informatics are especially in demand.
3. Computer Science
Computer science continues to offer some of the strongest starting salaries and career growth potential. The supply-demand gap is staggering.
- Starting salary: $76,251
- Annual job openings: 355,000
- Annual graduates: Only 90,000
That four-to-one ratio between openings and graduates means CS students who finish their degree are virtually guaranteed strong offers. Software engineering, cybersecurity, and data science are the hottest tracks.
4. Engineering
Engineering commands the highest starting salary of any undergraduate major. It is rigorous, but the payoff is clear.
- Starting salary: $78,731 (highest of all majors)
- Annual job openings: 195,000
- Top disciplines: Electrical, mechanical, software, biomedical
Engineering programs are demanding, and attrition rates are high. Students who succeed tend to be those who genuinely enjoy problem-solving and math, not just those chasing the salary numbers.
5. Social Sciences and History
Social sciences and history account for about 7% of enrollment, but the salary outlook is more complicated than the other majors on this list.
- Enrollment share: 7%
- Salary outlook: Facing a negative projection of -3.6%
- Common paths: Law school, public policy, research, nonprofit work
This does not mean these majors lack value. Many of the most successful professionals in law, government, and media started here. But students should have a clear plan for what comes after the degree.
6. Biology and Biomedical Sciences
Biology is a popular choice for students who dream of medical school. The challenge? Most biology graduates do not end up in medicine.
- Underemployment rate: 35%
- Key challenge: Significant supply-demand imbalance
- Best outcomes: Students who pursue graduate programs or pivot to biotech
Families should know that a biology degree alone, without graduate school or targeted internships, can leave students underemployed. If med school is the goal, having a backup plan matters.
7. Psychology
Psychology is one of the most popular majors in the country, but it also has one of the highest underemployment rates for bachelor's holders.
- Underemployment rate: 38%
- Degrees awarded in 2023: 140,711
- Best outcomes: Clinical psychology (requires a doctorate), UX research, human resources
Students who love psychology should consider it carefully. A graduate degree is often necessary for the roles they picture when choosing this major.
8. Visual and Performing Arts
Arts majors earn the lowest starting salaries on this list, but they also report some of the highest levels of work autonomy and satisfaction.
- Starting salary: $37,286 to $52,654
- Strength: High work autonomy and creative fulfillment
- Growing fields: UX/UI design, animation, game design, digital media
If your student is passionate about the arts, the conversation should focus on which art careers have growing demand rather than whether art is "practical." Design-focused tracks in particular are thriving.
9. Education
Education majors are entering a field with critical teacher shortages across the country. Salaries are rising, though they still lag behind most other majors.
- Starting salary: $46,526 (up 4.4% year over year)
- Outlook: Critical teacher shortages in STEM, special education, and rural areas
- Loan forgiveness: Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs available
For students who feel called to teach, the job security is strong and improving. Many states are also offering signing bonuses and housing incentives for new teachers.
10. Communication and Journalism
Communication rounds out the top ten. While traditional journalism is declining, the broader field of strategic communication is growing.
- Starting salary: $60,353
- Growing areas: Digital marketing, content strategy, public relations, corporate communications
- Declining areas: Print journalism, traditional broadcast news
Students interested in communication should lean into digital and data-driven specializations. The ability to write well combined with analytics skills is a powerful combination in today's job market.
Salary Comparison at a Glance
| Rank | Major | Starting Salary | Job Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | $65,276 | Strong |
| 2 | Health Professions | $64,000+ | Very Strong |
| 3 | Computer Science | $76,251 | Very Strong |
| 4 | Engineering | $78,731 | Strong |
| 5 | Social Sciences | Varies | Mixed |
| 6 | Biology | Varies | Moderate |
| 7 | Psychology | Varies | Moderate |
| 8 | Visual & Performing Arts | $37,286-$52,654 | Niche |
| 9 | Education | $46,526 | Strong |
| 10 | Communication | $60,353 | Moderate |
How AI Is Reshaping These Majors
Every major on this list is being affected by artificial intelligence, but the impact varies widely. Here is a practical breakdown for families thinking long-term.
Roles Facing the Most Disruption
- Entry-level accounting and bookkeeping (Business)
- Market research and data entry (Business, Social Sciences)
- Basic coding and testing (Computer Science)
- Content generation and copywriting (Communication)
- Routine diagnostics (Biology, Health Professions)
Careers That Remain Hard to Automate
- Clinical psychology and therapy (Psychology)
- Complex patient care and surgery (Health Professions)
- Investigative and long-form journalism (Communication)
- Strategic management and leadership (Business)
- Hands-on engineering design (Engineering)
- Live performance and fine arts (Arts)
New Career Paths Created by AI
- AI product specialists and machine learning engineers
- Ethics and compliance roles for AI systems
- Human-AI collaboration designers
- AI-augmented healthcare coordinators
- Prompt engineering and AI training specialists
When exploring majors, encourage your student to ask: "How will this field use AI in five years?" The strongest career paths will not be the ones that avoid AI, but the ones where professionals learn to work alongside it. Start building that awareness during junior year planning.
What Parents Should Know
Salary data and job projections are helpful, but they are only part of the picture. Here are a few things worth keeping in mind as your family explores college majors together.
Underemployment matters more than unemployment. A 35% underemployment rate (like biology) means one in three graduates ends up in a job that does not require their degree. That is a more useful number than the unemployment rate alone.
Starting salary is not the whole story. Engineering and computer science lead in starting pay, but careers in health professions and education often offer stronger long-term stability and benefits. Mid-career earnings can shift the picture significantly.
Passion without a plan is risky. There is nothing wrong with studying psychology or art, but students in those fields need a concrete plan for how they will build a career. That means internships, networking, and often graduate school.
The best major is one your student will finish. About 40% of college students change their major at least once. Picking a field that genuinely interests your student increases the odds they will persist through the tough semesters.
Choosing a major is not a one-time decision. Most colleges allow students to explore before declaring, and many successful professionals end up in fields unrelated to their undergraduate major. The goal is to build strong skills and habits, not to predict the future perfectly. Use tools like Solyo's college search to find schools that support exploration.
How to Start the Conversation at Home
If your student is in high school and starting to think about college, here are a few conversation starters that go beyond "What do you want to major in?"
- What problems do you enjoy solving? This gets closer to career fit than asking about favorite subjects.
- Would you rather work with people, data, or things? Simple frameworks help narrow broad options.
- What does your ideal Tuesday look like at age 30? This helps students think about lifestyle, not just job titles.
- Are you open to graduate school? Some majors (psychology, biology) almost require it for strong outcomes.
- What skills do you want to build? Framing college as skill-building rather than credential-earning shifts the mindset in a productive way.
Starting these conversations early, ideally during sophomore or junior year, gives families time to research programs, visit campuses, and make thoughtful decisions without the pressure of senior year deadlines.
Final Thoughts
The college major your student chooses will shape their first few years after graduation, but it will not define their entire career. What matters most is that they choose thoughtfully, understand the trade-offs, and build real-world experience alongside their coursework.
The data in this guide is a starting point. Pair it with campus visits, conversations with professionals in the field, and honest self-reflection about your student's strengths and interests. That combination leads to the best outcomes.
For a step-by-step approach to college planning that goes beyond just picking a major, explore Solyo's college planning tools to stay organized and on track throughout high school.
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