What is the typical salary for US Area Studies graduates?

The median income for US Bachelor’s graduates who studied Area Studies was $35,557 about one year after completing their degree (2018-19 & 2019-20 award-year cohorts (about one year after completion)). The median is the typical completer who was working and not enrolled in further study — half earned more and half earned less. This figure rolls up 66 published institution-level program medians covering 2,583 completers. Source: U.S. Dept of Education College Scorecard (public domain).

Where does Area Studies rank among US fields of study for earnings?

By median early-career earnings, Area Studies ranks #79 of 120 Bachelor’s fields in this College Scorecard rollup. Its $35,557 median is below the $47,260 all-field median. Rankings reflect typical outcomes by field, not the earning potential of any one graduate. Source: U.S. Dept of Education College Scorecard (public domain).

Is a Area Studies graduate guaranteed to earn $35,557?

No. $35,557 is the median — the typical completer, not a guarantee or an average. Half of Area Studies graduates earned less and half earned more, and individual earnings vary widely by institution, region, role and person. The figure also measures earnings only about one year after completion; pay typically rises with experience. Source: U.S. Dept of Education College Scorecard (public domain).

How is this earnings figure calculated?

College Scorecard publishes one median per institution per program and suppresses small cells for privacy, so there is no single official national median per field. The figure here is the completer-count-weighted median of the published per-institution program medians for Area Studies at Bachelor’s level (W-2 wages plus positive self-employment income from IRS records, for completers who were working and not enrolled). It is a transparent rollup of real published medians — not an official Department of Education figure and not an average.

Is this real government data?

Yes. Every input is a published U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard "Field of Study" median (release updated 2026-06-10), in the U.S. Government public domain. No figure is modelled, estimated, or interpolated — only real published institution-level medians are rolled up.

GeraLearn / US College Salaries / Area Studies

Area Studies Salary (US)

US Bachelor’s graduates who studied Area Studies had a median income of $35,557 about one year after completing their degree — ranked #79 of 120 fields, below the $47,260 all-field median. A median, not a guarantee. Real U.S. Dept of Education College Scorecard data (public domain).

What do US Area Studies graduates typically earn after a Bachelor’s degree?

US Bachelor’s graduates who studied Area Studies had a median income of $35,557 about one year after completing their degree — ranking #79 of 120 fields and below the $47,260 all-field median. This is the typical (median) completer: half earned more, half earned less. It is not a guarantee. Source: U.S. Dept of Education College Scorecard (public domain).

Source:U.S. Department of Education — College Scorecard, Field of Study (Bachelor’s)·As of College Scorecard Field of Study release (updated 2026-06-10) · updated annually · last refreshed 27 June 2026

This page shows the typical (median) early-career income of US graduates who studied Area Studies at Bachelor’s level, from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard field-of-study data. The median is the middle completer who was working and not enrolled in further study — half earned more and half earned less — so it describes a typical outcome about one year after completion rather than a promise. Earnings usually rise with experience.

Area Studies graduate earnings — the numbers

Measure	Area Studies	All fields
Median income, ~1 year after completion	$35,557	$47,260
Rank by median earnings	#79 of 120	—
Institution-level program medians rolled up	66	25,739
Working, non-enrolled completers	2,583	2,523,626

Based on 2,583 working, non-enrolled completers across 66 institution- level program medians (2018-19 & 2019-20 award-year cohorts (about one year after completion)). College Scorecard measures earnings only about one year after completion; pay typically rises with experience beyond this point.

What this means

A median of $35,557 places Area Studies at #79 of 120 fields, $11,703 below the $47,260 all-field median. Because this is the typical completer one year out, the field you study is only one of many factors — institution, region, role and experience all shape what an individual actually earns, and earnings generally rise across a career.

US college salary comparator

Pick a field of study to compare its typical (median) early-career earnings against the all-field median. Every figure is a real published College Scorecard median — not a guarantee.

Field of study

Median early-career income

$35,557

Rank (of 120)

#79

Completers behind it

2,583

The $35,557 median for Area Studies is $11,703 below the $47,260 all-field median. It rolls up 66 published institution-level program medians.

Medians, not guarantees or averages. Figures are completer-count-weighted medians of real published College Scorecard institution-level program medians for Bachelor’s completers who were working and not enrolled, measured about one year after completion. Individual earnings vary by institution, region, role and experience. Nothing here is modelled or interpolated.

Area Studies salary — FAQ

What is the typical salary for US Area Studies graduates?: The median income for US Bachelor’s graduates who studied Area Studies was $35,557 about one year after completing their degree (2018-19 & 2019-20 award-year cohorts (about one year after completion)). The median is the typical completer who was working and not enrolled in further study — half earned more and half earned less. This figure rolls up 66 published institution-level program medians covering 2,583 completers. Source: U.S. Dept of Education College Scorecard (public domain).
Where does Area Studies rank among US fields of study for earnings?: By median early-career earnings, Area Studies ranks #79 of 120 Bachelor’s fields in this College Scorecard rollup. Its $35,557 median is below the $47,260 all-field median. Rankings reflect typical outcomes by field, not the earning potential of any one graduate. Source: U.S. Dept of Education College Scorecard (public domain).
Is a Area Studies graduate guaranteed to earn $35,557?: No. $35,557 is the median — the typical completer, not a guarantee or an average. Half of Area Studies graduates earned less and half earned more, and individual earnings vary widely by institution, region, role and person. The figure also measures earnings only about one year after completion; pay typically rises with experience. Source: U.S. Dept of Education College Scorecard (public domain).
How is this earnings figure calculated?: College Scorecard publishes one median per institution per program and suppresses small cells for privacy, so there is no single official national median per field. The figure here is the completer-count-weighted median of the published per-institution program medians for Area Studies at Bachelor’s level (W-2 wages plus positive self-employment income from IRS records, for completers who were working and not enrolled). It is a transparent rollup of real published medians — not an official Department of Education figure and not an average.
Is this real government data?: Yes. Every input is a published U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard "Field of Study" median (release updated 2026-06-10), in the U.S. Government public domain. No figure is modelled, estimated, or interpolated — only real published institution-level medians are rolled up.

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Source: U.S. Department of Education — College Scorecard, Field of Study (Bachelor’s). Figures are from the College Scorecard Field of Study release (updated 2026-06-10), covering US Bachelor’s completers who were working and not enrolled in further study, measured about one year after completion (W-2 wages plus positive self-employment income, IRS records). U.S. Government public domain. The $35,557 headline is a completer-count-weighted median of real published institution-level program medians — the typical graduate, not an average and not a guarantee. Last refreshed 2026-06-27. No figure is modelled or interpolated.