General Education Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
General Education maps to BLS occupations averaging about $89,176, with roughly 107,930 workers nationwide in those roles. About 92,051 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median program completion runs near 57%.
Key Statistics
General Education: what the data shows
Common questions about general education degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a general education degree?
A General Education program is classified under NCES CIP 13.01 in the Education, General field family (13.01).
Instructional content is defined in code 13.0101.
IPEDS counted 92,051 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
How long does it take to get a general education degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 13.01 in our file:
- 17,944 Associate (6.8% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 92,051 Bachelor's (34.8% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 144,856 Master's (54.8% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 9,693 Doctorate (3.7% 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 general education?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Instructing, Speaking, Active Learning, Active Listening, Learning Strategies, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Teachers and Instructors, All Other (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 general education degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links General Education 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers and Instructors, All Other | 125,010 | $64,690 |
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 11,430 | $84,290 |
| Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | 114,410 | $61,430 |
| Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary | 5,260 | $95,770 |
| Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary | 97,890 | $80,190 |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 382,960 | $58,570 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a general education degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Education, General bachelor's program family: median debt $22,576, median earnings $49,808 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.58.
About 1.7% 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 $14,965 and median net price is $17,919.
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 General Education and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$14,965 Median In-State Public
$35,960 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for General Education majors are, on average, $14,965 for in-state public colleges, and $35,960 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for General Education programs.
Institutions awarding the most General Education degrees
| # | Institution | State | Completions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Governors University | UT | 16,762 |
| 2 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 8,040 |
| 3 | American College of Education | IN | 5,830 |
| 4 | Liberty University | VA | 4,083 |
| 5 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion | AZ | 2,516 |
| 6 | Ball State University | IN | 2,395 |
| 7 | Lamar University | TX | 1,909 |
| 8 | University of the Cumberlands | KY | 1,903 |
| 9 | Walden University | MN | 1,811 |
| 10 | National University | CA | 1,669 |
IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), all award levels for this CIP in our extract.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
92,051 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in General Education from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in General Education.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,099 |
| 2 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 54,926 |
| 3 | Purdue University-Main Campus | IN | 39,637 |
| 4 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | NJ | 36,357 |
| 5 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | 34,623 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering General Education programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tohono O'odham Community College | AZ | $932 |
| 2 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 3 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,126 |
| 4 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
| 5 | Lassen Community College | CA | $1,144 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for General Education programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $29 |
| 2 | Coahoma Community College | MS | $560 |
| 3 | Reedley College | CA | $1,584 |
| 4 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,697 |
| 5 | Hartnell College | CA | $2,895 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for General Education programs.
Graduation Rates
57.33% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
57.55% Average Graduation Rate
839 Institutions Reporting
46.44% - 69.33% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for General Education 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 General Education is in UT (6,930 completions). That state represents about 7.5% 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 MH (50.00% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UT | 6,930 | 7.5% | 6.42% |
| NY | 5,303 | 5.8% | 1.92% |
| CA | 5,251 | 5.7% | 1.17% |
| TX | 4,589 | 5.0% | 1.57% |
| OH | 4,333 | 4.7% | 3.13% |
| PA | 4,069 | 4.4% | 2.38% |
| IL | 3,851 | 4.2% | 2.78% |
| AZ | 3,577 | 3.9% | 2.58% |
| FL | 3,567 | 3.9% | 1.56% |
| GA | 2,903 | 3.1% | 2.54% |
| MI | 2,802 | 3.0% | 2.44% |
| WI | 2,629 | 2.9% | 3.46% |
| MO | 2,470 | 2.7% | 3.46% |
| IN | 2,383 | 2.6% | 2.31% |
| NC | 2,327 | 2.5% | 1.88% |
| MN | 2,279 | 2.5% | 2.67% |
| IA | 2,092 | 2.3% | 4.39% |
| VA | 2,070 | 2.2% | 1.69% |
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 13.01 in the survey year used in our extract (264,544 total across levels below).
- 17,944 Associate (6.8% of IPEDS total)
- 92,051 Bachelor's (34.8% of IPEDS total)
- 144,856 Master's (54.8% of IPEDS total)
- 9,693 Doctorate (3.7% 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 $89,176. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of General Education graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers and Instructors, All Other | $92,692 | 125,010 |
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $129,630 | 11,430 |
| Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | $91,347 | 114,410 |
| Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary | $126,897 | 5,260 |
| Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary | $130,318 | 97,890 |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | $75,138 | 382,960 |
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 Education, General CIP family (18 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every General Education graduate.
- $22,576 median federal loan debt among completers
- $49,808 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.58 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 1.7% 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
$87,722 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for General Education majors is $87,722.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for General Education majors.
Occupations by Share
107,930 2023 Workforce
The number of General Education graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in General Education 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)
$52,230 Median Annual Earnings (10 years after enrollment)
628.69% Return on Investment (10-year earnings vs 4-year cost)
Ten-year earnings in this extract exceed four years of median net price.
$71,676 Estimated Total Cost (4 years at median net price)
Financial value comparison for General Education degree.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in General Education in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in General Education.
Age distribution for General Education degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
92,051 Total Degrees Awarded
15,725 Male (17.08%)
76,326 Female (82.92%)
Gender distribution of General Education degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
62,205 White (67.58%)
14,511 Hispanic or Latino (15.76%)
6,039 Black or African American (6.56%)
2,838 Two or More Races (3.08%)
2,463 Asian (2.68%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of General Education degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in General Education are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in General Education.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the General Education field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
General Education majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for General Education 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 General Education majors.
About
Instructional content is defined in code 13.0101.
In 2023, 92,051 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in General Education.
CIP Code
13.01 - General Education
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $22,576 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $49,808, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.58. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual General Education graduate.
Women earned 81.1% of 317,436 General Education completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $89,176. The largest mapped role by headcount is Teachers and Instructors, All Other (125,010 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $14,965 in-state at public colleges and $35,960 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.