Cultural Anthropology Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Cultural Anthropology maps to BLS occupations averaging about $99,389, with roughly 265,950 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $9,992; common paths include Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary and Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary.
Key Statistics
Cultural Anthropology: what the data shows
Common questions about cultural anthropology degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a cultural anthropology degree?
A Cultural Anthropology program is classified under NCES CIP 45.0204 in the Anthropology field family (45.02).
A program that focuses on the study of culture and the relationship of culture to other aspects of social life. Includes instruction in cultural anthropology, anthropological theory, enthnography, linguistics, and quantitative and qualitative research methods
IPEDS counted 46 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of cultural anthropology degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 45.02 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Anthropology, General (CIP 45.0201)
- Forensic Anthropology (CIP 45.0205)
- Medical Anthropology (CIP 45.0203)
- Physical and Biological Anthropology (CIP 45.0202)
How long does it take to get a cultural anthropology degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 45.0204 in our file:
- 46 Bachelor's (79.3% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 12 Master's (20.7% 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 Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary (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 45.0204, 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 cultural anthropology degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Cultural Anthropology 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 11,430 | $84,290 |
| Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary | 5,260 | $95,770 |
| Psychiatric Aides | 34,900 | $41,590 |
| Genetic Counselors | 3,510 | $98,910 |
| Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors | — | — |
| Instructional Coordinators | 210,850 | $74,720 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a cultural anthropology degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Anthropology bachelor's program family: median debt $24,061, median earnings $46,676 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.86.
About 7.7% 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 $9,992 and median net price is $16,778.
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 Cultural Anthropology and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$9,992 Median In-State Public
$62,688 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Cultural Anthropology majors are, on average, $9,992 for in-state public colleges, and $62,688 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Cultural Anthropology programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Cultural Anthropology from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Cultural Anthropology.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 2 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 4 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 5 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Cultural Anthropology programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 2 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 3 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
| 4 | El Camino Community College District | CA | $1,144 |
| 5 | Lassen Community College | CA | $1,144 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Cultural Anthropology 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 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,115 |
| 5 | Texas A&M University-Central Texas | TX | $1,300 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Cultural Anthropology programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Cultural Anthropology 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 Cultural Anthropology is in MA (13 completions). That state represents about 28.3% 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 HI (0.11% 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 | 13 | 28.3% | 0.01% |
| HI | 12 | 26.1% | 0.11% |
| ME | 8 | 17.4% | 0.05% |
| NY | 5 | 10.9% | 0.00% |
| NE | 4 | 8.7% | 0.01% |
| CA | 3 | 6.5% | 0.00% |
| PA | 1 | 2.2% | 0.00% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 45.02 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Anthropology, General CIP 45.0201
- Forensic Anthropology CIP 45.0205
- Medical Anthropology CIP 45.0203
- Physical and Biological Anthropology CIP 45.0202
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 45.0204 in the survey year used in our extract (58 total across levels below).
- 46 Bachelor's (79.3% of IPEDS total)
- 12 Master's (20.7% 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 $99,389. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Cultural Anthropology graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $129,630 | 11,430 |
| Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary | $126,897 | 5,260 |
| Psychiatric Aides | $51,699 | 34,900 |
| Genetic Counselors | $143,815 | 3,510 |
| Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors | — | — |
| Instructional Coordinators | $104,217 | 210,850 |
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 Anthropology CIP family (27 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Cultural Anthropology graduate.
- $24,061 median federal loan debt among completers
- $46,676 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.86 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 7.7% 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
$99,389 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Cultural Anthropology majors is $99,389.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Cultural Anthropology majors.
Occupations by Share
265,950 2023 Workforce
The number of Cultural Anthropology graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Cultural Anthropology by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Cultural Anthropology in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Cultural Anthropology.
Age distribution for Cultural Anthropology degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
46 Total Degrees Awarded
10 Male (21.74%)
36 Female (78.26%)
Gender distribution of Cultural Anthropology degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
30 White (65.22%)
5 Hispanic or Latino (10.87%)
3 Two or More Races (6.52%)
2 Asian (4.35%)
2 Black or African American (4.35%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Cultural Anthropology degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Cultural Anthropology are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Cultural Anthropology.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Cultural Anthropology field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Cultural Anthropology majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Cultural Anthropology 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 Cultural Anthropology majors.
About
A program that focuses on the study of culture and the relationship of culture to other aspects of social life. Includes instruction in cultural anthropology, anthropological theory, enthnography, linguistics, and quantitative and qualitative research methods
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Cultural Anthropology.
CIP Code
45.0204 - Cultural Anthropology
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $24,061 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $46,676, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.86. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Cultural Anthropology graduate.
Women earned 72.2% of 79 Cultural Anthropology completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $99,389. The largest mapped role by headcount is Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary (11,430 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,992 in-state at public colleges and $62,688 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.