English

Contains Stem Majors

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Total Degrees
Awarded in 2021

54,635

declining 3.91%

Median In-State
Public Tuition

$7,508

growing 3.36%

Median Out-of-State
Private Tuition

$34,990

growing 1.71%

Average Wage

$81,088

growing 5.85%

People in Workforce

1.51M

growing 2.18%

Average Employee Age

43.9

growing 0.0522%

About

In 2021, the locations with the highest concentration of English degree recipients are New York, NY, South Hooksett, NH, and Los Angeles, CA. The most common degree awarded to students studying English is a bachelors degree.

Photo by Barta IV

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in English and the types of students that study this field. Southern New Hampshire University awards the most degrees in English in the US, but Columbia College (455983) and Vermont College of Fine Arts have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in English.

Tuition costs for English majors are, on average, $7,508 for in-state public colleges, and $34,990 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers English programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (857 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (32,963 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in English

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in English, is Public, 4-year or above (32,963 completions in 2021).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer English programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$7,508

Median In-State Public

$34,990

Median Out of State Private

Southern New Hampshire University has the most English degree recipients, with 1,333 degrees awarded in 2021.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in English.

Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution

Out of all institutions that offer English programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Columbia College (455983) has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in English, with 87.3%.

Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in English

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in English by year.

Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for English.

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ English graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for English majors is $81,088 and the most common occupations are Elementary & middle school teachers, Postsecondary teachers, and Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers.

The industry that employs the most English majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Foundries.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

$81,088

Average Wage in Workforce

± $1,797

5.85%

1 Year Growth

± 2.99%

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for English majors.

Highest Paying Locations

Highest Paying Pumas

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of English majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that English majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

Most Common

The most common occupations English majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & middle school teachers, Postsecondary teachers, and Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers.

Most Specialized

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of English majors working as Editors, Technical writers, and Writers & authors.

Highest Paid

The highest paid occupations by median income for English majors are Surgeons, Nurse anesthetists, and Physicians.

Occupations by Share

1.51M

2021 Workforce

± 30,041

2.18%

1 Year Growth

± 2.76%

The number of English graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.18%, from 1.48M in 2020 to 1.51M in 2021.

The largest single share of English graduates go on to work as Elementary & middle school teachers (7.27%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in English by share of the total number of graduates.

Most Common

The most common industries that employ English majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Legal services.

Highest Paid

The highest paying industries of English majors, by average wage, are Foundries, Tobacco manufacturing, and Ordnance.

Industries by Share

1.51M

2021 Workforce

± 30,041

2.18%

1 Year Growth

± 2.76%

The number of English graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.18%, from 1.48M in 2020 to 1.51M in 2021.

The industry which employs the most English graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in English.

Specialty Locations

PUMAS with a relatively high number of English majors

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of English majors.

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in English in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in English is 43.9.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold English degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in English (33,507 students).

Workforce Age

43.9

Average Age in 2021

± 0.264 Years

0.0522%

1 Year Change

± 0.86%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in English. The most common ages of employees with this major are 36 and 35 years old, which represent 2.75% and 2.73% of the population, respectively.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in English are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

Workforce Degrees

The most common degree types held by the working population in English are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.

Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Female (71.8%)

Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in English.

Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity

White
33,507 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino
8,763 degrees awarded
Black or African American
4,172 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in English for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

Race & Ethnicity by Sex

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination

White Female
17,715 degrees awarded
White Male
6,599 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino Female
4,312 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in English.

White Female students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

Global Diversity

Most Common Countries of Origin

China
19,644 degree recipients
India
16,346 degree recipients
Korea
11,347 degree recipients

High Relative Number of Students

Japan
6.79 times more than expected
South Central Asia, not specified
4.7 times more than expected
Algeria
4.61 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Japan that hold English degrees (6.79 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is China (19,644 degree recipients).

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the English field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. English majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that English majors need more than the average amount of Writing, Persuasion, Reading Comprehension, Negotiation, Active Listening, Coordination, Operation and Control, Time Management, Social Perceptiveness, Management of Personnel Resources, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, Operations Analysis, Instructing, Judgment and Decision Making, Complex Problem Solving, Monitoring, Active Learning, Learning Strategies, Operation Monitoring, Systems Analysis, Systems Evaluation, Technology Design, Programming, Mathematics, Management of Material Resources, Management of Financial Resources, Science, Quality Control Analysis, Equipment Selection, Installation, Equipment Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Repairing.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for English majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Writing is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Writing, Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Persuasion, Judgment and Decision Making, Complex Problem Solving, Social Perceptiveness, Coordination, Time Management, Active Learning, Monitoring, Negotiation, Service Orientation, Instructing, Management of Personnel Resources, Learning Strategies, Systems Analysis, Systems Evaluation, Operations Analysis, Mathematics, Operation Monitoring, Operation and Control, Science, Management of Financial Resources, Management of Material Resources, Technology Design, Programming, Quality Control Analysis, Equipment Selection, Installation, Equipment Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Repairing are the three most important skills for people in the field.