American History (United States) Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
American History (United States) maps to BLS occupations averaging about $152,102, with roughly 2,275,500 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $9,642; common paths include Lawyers and History Teachers, Postsecondary.
Key Statistics
American History (United States): what the data shows
Common questions about american history (united states) degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a american history (united states) degree?
A American History (United States) program is classified under NCES CIP 54.0102 in the History field family (54.01).
A program that focuses on the development of American society, culture, and institutions from the Pre-Columbian period to the present. Includes instruction in American historiography, American history sources and materials, historical research methods, and applications to the study of specific themes, issues, periods, and institutions
IPEDS counted 4 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of american history (united states) degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 54.01 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Asian History (CIP 54.0106)
- Canadian History (CIP 54.0107)
- European History (CIP 54.0103)
- History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (CIP 54.0104)
- History, General (CIP 54.0101)
- Military History (CIP 54.0108)
- Public/Applied History (CIP 54.0105)
How long does it take to get a american history (united states) degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 54.0102 in our file:
- 4 Bachelor's (1.7% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 229 Master's (98.3% 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 Lawyers (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 american history (united states) degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links American History (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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lawyers | 747,750 | $151,160 |
| History Teachers, Postsecondary | 19,860 | $81,500 |
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 11,430 | $84,290 |
| Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary | 5,260 | $95,770 |
| Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary | 97,890 | $80,190 |
| Elementary School Teachers | 1,393,310 | $62,340 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a american history (united states) degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the History bachelor's program family: median debt $30,706, median earnings $50,680 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.98.
About 6.8% 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 $9,642 and median net price is $17,743.
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 History (United States) and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$9,642 Median In-State Public
$40,490 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for American History (United States) majors are, on average, $9,642 for in-state public colleges, and $40,490 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for American History (United States) programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in American History (United States) from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in American History (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 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 4 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
| 5 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering American History (United States) programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Taft College | CA | $1,108 |
| 3 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 4 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 5 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for American History (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 History (United States) programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for American History (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 History (United States) is in MA (2 completions). That state represents about 50.0% 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 MA (0.00% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MA | 2 | 50.0% | 0.00% |
| IA | 1 | 25.0% | 0.00% |
| NY | 1 | 25.0% | 0.00% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 54.01 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Asian History CIP 54.0106
- Canadian History CIP 54.0107
- European History CIP 54.0103
- History and Philosophy of Science and Technology CIP 54.0104
- History, General CIP 54.0101
- Military History CIP 54.0108
- Public/Applied History CIP 54.0105
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 54.0102 in the survey year used in our extract (233 total across levels below).
- 4 Bachelor's (1.7% of IPEDS total)
- 229 Master's (98.3% 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 $152,102. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of American History (United States) graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Lawyers | $261,078 | 747,750 |
| History Teachers, Postsecondary | $134,221 | 19,860 |
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $129,630 | 11,430 |
| Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary | $126,897 | 5,260 |
| Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary | $130,318 | 97,890 |
| Elementary School Teachers | $95,682 | 1,393,310 |
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 History CIP family (95 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every American History (United States) graduate.
- $30,706 median federal loan debt among completers
- $50,680 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.98 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 6.8% 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
$152,102 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for American History (United States) majors is $152,102.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for American History (United States) majors.
Occupations by Share
2,275,500 2023 Workforce
The number of American History (United States) graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in American History (United States) by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in American History (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 History (United States).
Age distribution for American History (United States) degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
4 Total Degrees Awarded
3 Male (75.00%)
1 Female (25.00%)
Gender distribution of American History (United States) degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
4 White (100.00%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of American History (United States) degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in American History (United States) are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in American History (United States).
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the American History (United States) field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
American History (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 History (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 History (United States) majors.
About
A program that focuses on the development of American society, culture, and institutions from the Pre-Columbian period to the present. Includes instruction in American historiography, American history sources and materials, historical research methods, and applications to the study of specific themes, issues, periods, and institutions
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in American History (United States).
CIP Code
54.0102 - American History (United States)
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $30,706 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $50,680, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.98. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual American History (United States) graduate.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $152,102. The largest mapped role by headcount is Lawyers (747,750 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,642 in-state at public colleges and $40,490 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.