Web Development Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Web Development maps to BLS occupations averaging about $48,681, with roughly 50,000 workers nationwide in those roles. About 974 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median program completion runs near 55%.
Key Statistics
Web Development: what the data shows
Common questions about web development degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a web development degree?
A Web Development program is classified under NCES CIP 11.0801 in the Computer Software and Media Applications field family (11.08).
A program that prepares individuals to apply HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, graphics applications, and other authoring tools to the design, editing, and publishing (launching) of documents, images, graphics, sound, and multimedia products on the World Wide Web. Includes instruction in Internet theory, web page standards and policies, elements of web page design, user interfaces, vector tools, special effects, interactive and multimedia components, search engines, navigation, morphing, e-commerce tools, and emerging web technologies.
IPEDS counted 974 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of web development degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 11.08 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Computer Graphics (CIP 11.0803)
- Data Modeling/Warehousing and Database Administration (CIP 11.0802)
- Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation (CIP 11.0804)
How long does it take to get a web development degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 11.0801 in our file:
- 1,403 Associate (48.3% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 974 Bachelor's (33.5% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 488 Master's (16.8% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 41 Doctorate (1.4% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in web development?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Web Developers (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a web development degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Web Development to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Web Developers | 200,000 | — |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a web development degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Computer Software and Media Applications bachelor's program family: median debt $23,839, median earnings $58,894 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.63.
About 9.8% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $11,790 and median net price is $15,944.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Web Development and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$11,790 Median In-State Public
$35,056 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Web Development majors are, on average, $11,790 for in-state public colleges, and $35,056 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Web Development programs.
Institutions awarding the most Web Development degrees
| # | Institution | State | Completions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The New School | NY | 266 |
| 2 | School of Visual Arts | NY | 196 |
| 3 | New York University | NY | 189 |
| 4 | Brigham Young University-Idaho | ID | 135 |
| 5 | Spokane Community College | WA | 128 |
| 6 | Lorain County Community College | OH | 85 |
| 7 | Florida Institute of Recording Sound and Technology | FL | 83 |
| 8 | DeVry University-Illinois | IL | 81 |
| 9 | Academy of Art University | CA | 77 |
| 10 | Dallas College | TX | 73 |
IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), all award levels for this CIP in our extract.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
974 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Web Development from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Web Development.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | 34,623 |
| 2 | Cornell University | NY | 15,935 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Web Development programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | $16,004 |
| 2 | Cornell University | NY | $66,014 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Web Development programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | $15,201 |
| 2 | Cornell University | NY | $32,337 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Web Development programs.
Graduation Rates
55.46% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
54.84% Average Graduation Rate
536 Institutions Reporting
40.65% - 68.75% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Web Development programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Web Development is in NY (434 completions). That state represents about 44.6% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is PR (0.17% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| NY | 434 | 44.6% | 0.16% |
| WA | 63 | 6.5% | 0.09% |
| AZ | 59 | 6.1% | 0.04% |
| MD | 53 | 5.4% | 0.07% |
| PR | 50 | 5.1% | 0.17% |
| IL | 48 | 4.9% | 0.04% |
| ID | 41 | 4.2% | 0.14% |
| MO | 32 | 3.3% | 0.04% |
| PA | 32 | 3.3% | 0.02% |
| MI | 25 | 2.6% | 0.02% |
| CA | 24 | 2.5% | 0.01% |
| UT | 23 | 2.4% | 0.02% |
| OH | 22 | 2.3% | 0.02% |
| DE | 11 | 1.1% | 0.08% |
| FL | 11 | 1.1% | 0.01% |
| WI | 9 | 0.9% | 0.01% |
| TN | 8 | 0.8% | 0.01% |
| AR | 6 | 0.6% | 0.02% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 11.08 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Computer Graphics CIP 11.0803
- Data Modeling/Warehousing and Database Administration CIP 11.0802
- Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation CIP 11.0804
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 11.0801 in the survey year used in our extract (2,906 total across levels below).
- 1,403 Associate (48.3% of IPEDS total)
- 974 Bachelor's (33.5% of IPEDS total)
- 488 Master's (16.8% of IPEDS total)
- 41 Doctorate (1.4% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $48,681. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Web Development graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Web Developers | $48,681 | 200,000 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Computer Software and Media Applications CIP family (22 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Web Development graduate.
- $23,839 median federal loan debt among completers
- $58,894 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.63 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 9.8% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$48,681 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Web Development majors is $48,681.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Web Development majors.
Occupations by Share
50,000 2023 Workforce
The number of Web Development graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Web Development by share of the total number of graduates.
Return on Investment & Value
Debt and earnings fields below come from College Scorecard where present in our degree extract.
Financial value (extract)
$18,750 Median Student Debt
$50,000 Median Annual Earnings (10 years after enrollment)
37.50% Debt-to-Earnings Ratio
3.8 years Estimated Payback Period (assuming 10% of income)
683.99% Return on Investment (10-year earnings vs 4-year cost)
Ten-year earnings in this extract exceed four years of median net price.
$63,776 Estimated Total Cost (4 years at median net price)
Financial value comparison for Web Development degree.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Web Development in the United States.
Workforce Age
40.0 Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Web Development.
Age distribution for Web Development degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
974 Total Degrees Awarded
363 Male (37.27%)
611 Female (62.73%)
Gender distribution of Web Development degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
311 White (31.93%)
142 Hispanic or Latino (14.58%)
121 Asian (12.42%)
60 Black or African American (6.16%)
35 Two or More Races (3.59%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Web Development degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Web Development are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Web Development.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Web Development field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Web Development majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Web Development majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Web Development majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to apply HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, graphics applications, and other authoring tools to the design, editing, and publishing (launching) of documents, images, graphics, sound, and multimedia products on the World Wide Web. Includes instruction in Internet theory, web page standards and policies, elements of web page design, user interfaces, vector tools, special effects, interactive and multimedia components, search engines, navigation, morphing, e-commerce tools, and emerging web technologies.
In 2023, 974 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Web Development.
CIP Code
11.0801 - Web Development
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $23,839 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $58,894, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.63. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Web Development graduate.
About 9.8% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians. That is a program-level mobility signal, not a national underemployment rate.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $48,681. The largest mapped role by headcount is Web Developers (200,000 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $11,790 in-state at public colleges and $35,056 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.