American Government and Politics (United States) Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
American Government and Politics (United States) maps to BLS occupations averaging about $57,705, with roughly 274,870 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $9,700; common paths include Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs and Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers.
Key Statistics
American Government and Politics (United States): what the data shows
Common questions about american government and politics (united states) degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a american government and politics (united states) degree?
A American Government and Politics (United States) program is classified under NCES CIP 45.1002 in the Political Science and Government field family (45.10).
A program that focuses on the systematic study of United States political institutions and behavior. Includes instruction in American political theory, political parties and interest groups, state and local governments, Constitutional law, federalism and national institutions, executive and legislative politics, judicial politics, popular attitudes and media influences, political research methods, and applications to the study of specific issues and institutions
IPEDS counted 164 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of american government and politics (united states) degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 45.10 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Canadian Government and Politics (CIP 45.1003)
- Political Economy (CIP 45.1004)
- Social Sciences (CIP 45.1001)
How long does it take to get a american government and politics (united states) degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 45.1002 in our file:
- 12 Associate (4.6% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 164 Bachelor's (63.1% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 84 Master's (32.3% 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 Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs (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 45.1002, 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 american government and politics (united states) degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links American Government and Politics (United States) 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs | 156,260 | $51,500 |
| Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers | 12,460 | $65,480 |
| Home Health Aides | — | — |
| Telemarketers | 66,430 | $34,410 |
| Signal and Track Switch Repairers | 8,210 | $83,600 |
| Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | 31,510 | $41,600 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a american government and politics (united states) degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Political Science and Government bachelor's program family: median debt $34,600, median earnings $63,293 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.97.
About 6.2% 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 $9,700 and median net price is $17,882.
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 American Government and Politics (United States) and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$9,700 Median In-State Public
$43,094 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for American Government and Politics (United States) majors are, on average, $9,700 for in-state public colleges, and $43,094 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for American Government and Politics (United States) programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in American Government and Politics (United States) from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in American Government and Politics (United States).
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 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
| 4 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 5 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering American Government and Politics (United States) programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 3 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 4 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
| 5 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for American Government and Politics (United States) programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 3 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 4 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 5 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,115 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for American Government and Politics (United States) programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for American Government and Politics (United States) 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 American Government and Politics (United States) is in OR (31 completions). That state represents about 18.9% 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 OR (0.07% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| OR | 31 | 18.9% | 0.07% |
| MO | 23 | 14.0% | 0.03% |
| NC | 18 | 11.0% | 0.01% |
| NY | 17 | 10.4% | 0.01% |
| MD | 13 | 7.9% | 0.02% |
| PA | 12 | 7.3% | 0.01% |
| AZ | 9 | 5.5% | 0.01% |
| MA | 9 | 5.5% | 0.01% |
| WA | 8 | 4.9% | 0.01% |
| IN | 7 | 4.3% | 0.01% |
| ME | 6 | 3.7% | 0.04% |
| CO | 3 | 1.8% | 0.00% |
| IA | 3 | 1.8% | 0.01% |
| MI | 2 | 1.2% | 0.00% |
| OH | 1 | 0.6% | 0.00% |
| OK | 1 | 0.6% | 0.00% |
| TX | 1 | 0.6% | 0.00% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 45.10 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Canadian Government and Politics CIP 45.1003
- Political Economy CIP 45.1004
- Social Sciences CIP 45.1001
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 45.1002 in the survey year used in our extract (260 total across levels below).
- 12 Associate (4.6% of IPEDS total)
- 164 Bachelor's (63.1% of IPEDS total)
- 84 Master's (32.3% 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 $57,705. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of American Government and Politics (United States) graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs | $64,234 | 156,260 |
| Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers | $62,247 | 12,460 |
| Home Health Aides | — | — |
| Telemarketers | $41,892 | 66,430 |
| Signal and Track Switch Repairers | $91,225 | 8,210 |
| Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | $48,139 | 31,510 |
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 Political Science and Government CIP family (187 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every American Government and Politics (United States) graduate.
- $34,600 median federal loan debt among completers
- $63,293 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.97 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 6.2% 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
$57,705 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for American Government and Politics (United States) majors is $57,705.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for American Government and Politics (United States) majors.
Occupations by Share
274,870 2023 Workforce
The number of American Government and Politics (United States) graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in American Government and Politics (United States) by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in American Government and Politics (United States) in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in American Government and Politics (United States).
Age distribution for American Government and Politics (United States) degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
164 Total Degrees Awarded
94 Male (57.32%)
70 Female (42.68%)
Gender distribution of American Government and Politics (United States) degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
112 White (68.29%)
17 Hispanic or Latino (10.37%)
14 Two or More Races (8.54%)
13 Black or African American (7.93%)
3 Asian (1.83%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of American Government and Politics (United States) degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in American Government and Politics (United States) are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in American Government and Politics (United States).
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the American Government and Politics (United States) field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
American Government and Politics (United States) majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for American Government and Politics (United States) 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 American Government and Politics (United States) majors.
About
A program that focuses on the systematic study of United States political institutions and behavior. Includes instruction in American political theory, political parties and interest groups, state and local governments, Constitutional law, federalism and national institutions, executive and legislative politics, judicial politics, popular attitudes and media influences, political research methods, and applications to the study of specific issues and institutions
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in American Government and Politics (United States).
CIP Code
45.1002 - American Government and Politics (United States)
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $34,600 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $63,293, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.97. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual American Government and Politics (United States) graduate.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $57,705. The largest mapped role by headcount is Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs (156,260 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,700 in-state at public colleges and $43,094 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.