Financial Planning and Services Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Financial Planning and Services maps to BLS occupations averaging about $131,825, with roughly 3,198,560 workers nationwide in those roles. About 764 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median in-state published tuition is about $9,358.
Key Statistics
Financial Planning and Services: what the data shows
Common questions about financial planning and services degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a financial planning and services degree?
A Financial Planning and Services program is classified under NCES CIP 52.0804 in the Finance and Financial Management Services field family (52.08).
A program that prepares individuals to plan and manage the financial interests and growth of individuals and institutions. Includes instruction in portfolio management, investment management, estate planning, insurance, tax planning, strategic investing and planning, financial consulting services, and client relations
IPEDS counted 764 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of financial planning and services degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 52.08 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Banking and Financial Support Services (CIP 52.0803)
- Credit Management (CIP 52.0809)
- Finance (CIP 52.0801)
- Financial Risk Management (CIP 52.0810)
- International Finance (CIP 52.0806)
- Investments and Securities (CIP 52.0807)
- Public Finance (CIP 52.0808)
How long does it take to get a financial planning and services degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 52.0804 in our file:
- 11 Associate (1.1% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 764 Bachelor's (75.7% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 234 Master's (23.2% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents (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%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 52.0804, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a financial planning and services degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Financial Planning and Services 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents | 472,300 | $78,140 |
| Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel | 1,189,330 | $66,260 |
| Financial Managers | 818,620 | $161,700 |
| Financial Examiners | 62,830 | $90,400 |
| Personal Financial Advisors | 270,480 | $102,140 |
| Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks | 385,000 | $57,770 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a financial planning and services degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Finance and Financial Management Services bachelor's program family: median debt $35,481, median earnings $83,343 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.66.
About 3.4% 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 $9,358 and median net price is $18,397.
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 Financial Planning and Services and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$9,358 Median In-State Public
$38,700 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Financial Planning and Services majors are, on average, $9,358 for in-state public colleges, and $38,700 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Financial Planning and Services programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Financial Planning and Services from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Financial Planning and Services.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 2 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 3 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 4 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 5 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Financial Planning and Services programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
| 2 | San Diego Miramar College | CA | $1,146 |
| 3 | San Diego Miramar College | CA | $1,146 |
| 4 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,148 |
| 5 | Southeast New Mexico College | NM | $1,176 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Financial Planning and Services programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 2 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
| 3 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,115 |
| 4 | Texas A&M University-Central Texas | TX | $1,300 |
| 5 | Macomb Community College | MI | $1,618 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Financial Planning and Services programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Financial Planning and Services 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 Financial Planning and Services is in WI (174 completions). That state represents about 22.8% 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 DE (0.30% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WI | 174 | 22.8% | 0.23% |
| OH | 56 | 7.3% | 0.04% |
| UT | 49 | 6.4% | 0.04% |
| RI | 47 | 6.2% | 0.18% |
| CT | 44 | 5.8% | 0.09% |
| DE | 42 | 5.5% | 0.30% |
| MI | 40 | 5.2% | 0.04% |
| MO | 37 | 4.8% | 0.05% |
| FL | 34 | 4.5% | 0.01% |
| IN | 33 | 4.3% | 0.03% |
| KS | 31 | 4.1% | 0.08% |
| PA | 29 | 3.8% | 0.02% |
| AZ | 23 | 3.0% | 0.02% |
| TX | 22 | 2.9% | 0.01% |
| MN | 21 | 2.8% | 0.03% |
| MA | 18 | 2.4% | 0.01% |
| IA | 16 | 2.1% | 0.03% |
| NY | 10 | 1.3% | 0.00% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 52.08 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Banking and Financial Support Services CIP 52.0803
- Credit Management CIP 52.0809
- Finance CIP 52.0801
- Financial Risk Management CIP 52.0810
- International Finance CIP 52.0806
- Investments and Securities CIP 52.0807
- Public Finance CIP 52.0808
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 52.0804 in the survey year used in our extract (1,009 total across levels below).
- 11 Associate (1.1% of IPEDS total)
- 764 Bachelor's (75.7% of IPEDS total)
- 234 Master's (23.2% 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 $131,825. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Financial Planning and Services graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents | $108,560 | 472,300 |
| Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel | $96,116 | 1,189,330 |
| Financial Managers | $214,546 | 818,620 |
| Financial Examiners | $120,555 | 62,830 |
| Personal Financial Advisors | $173,641 | 270,480 |
| Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks | $67,248 | 385,000 |
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 Finance and Financial Management Services CIP family (179 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Financial Planning and Services graduate.
- $35,481 median federal loan debt among completers
- $83,343 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.66 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 3.4% 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
$131,825 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Financial Planning and Services majors is $131,825.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Financial Planning and Services majors.
Occupations by Share
3,198,560 2023 Workforce
The number of Financial Planning and Services graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Financial Planning and Services by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Financial Planning and Services in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Financial Planning and Services.
Age distribution for Financial Planning and Services degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
764 Total Degrees Awarded
573 Male (75.00%)
191 Female (25.00%)
Gender distribution of Financial Planning and Services degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
579 White (75.79%)
75 Hispanic or Latino (9.82%)
29 Black or African American (3.80%)
27 Asian (3.53%)
22 Two or More Races (2.88%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Financial Planning and Services degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Financial Planning and Services are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Financial Planning and Services.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Financial Planning and Services field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Financial Planning and Services majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Financial Planning and Services 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 Financial Planning and Services majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to plan and manage the financial interests and growth of individuals and institutions. Includes instruction in portfolio management, investment management, estate planning, insurance, tax planning, strategic investing and planning, financial consulting services, and client relations
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Financial Planning and Services.
CIP Code
52.0804 - Financial Planning and Services
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $35,481 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $83,343, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.66. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Financial Planning and Services graduate.
Men earned 31.8% of 5,773 Financial Planning and Services completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $131,825. The largest mapped role by headcount is Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents (472,300 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,358 in-state at public colleges and $38,700 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.