Gerontology Degrees (2026 stats)

Last updated: April 29, 2026 Source: College Scorecard

TL;DR

Gerontology maps to BLS occupations averaging about $152,361, with roughly 326,720 workers nationwide in those roles. About 870 degrees completed in recent IPEDS counts; median program completion runs near 59%.

Key Statistics

870
Total Degrees Awarded (2023)
$9,739
Median In-State Public Tuition
$38,824
Median Out-of-State Private Tuition
$152,361
Avg. Wage (related occupations)
326,720
Workers (related occupations)
59.4%
Median Graduation Rate (4-yr schools)
3
Bachelor's Completions (IPEDS 2023)

Gerontology: what the data shows

Common questions about gerontology degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.

What is a gerontology degree?

A Gerontology program is classified under NCES CIP 00.3011 in the 00.0030 field family (00.30).

IPEDS counted 870 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.

Types of gerontology degrees and related programs

Other NCES program codes in the 00.30 family with pages on EDsmart Data:

How long does it take to get a gerontology degree?

Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.3011 in our file:

  • 3 Bachelor's (15.8% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
  • 16 Master's (84.2% 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 do you learn in gerontology?

O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, Active Listening, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.

What degree do you need?

For Registered Nurses (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 gerontology degree?

Our degree→occupation mapping links Gerontology to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.

OccupationU.S. employmentMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses3,282,010$93,600
Mental Health Counselors——

See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.

Is a gerontology degree worth it?

Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $9,739 and median net price is $16,514.

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 Gerontology and the types of students that study this field.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$9,739 Median In-State Public

$38,824 Median Out of State Private

Tuition costs for Gerontology majors are, on average, $9,739 for in-state public colleges, and $38,824 for out of state private colleges.

Tuition costs comparison for Gerontology programs.

Degrees Awarded Over Time

870 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Gerontology from 2015 to 2023.

Historical trend of degrees awarded in Gerontology.

Top 5 Schools by Enrollment

# School State Enrollment
1 University of Maryland Global Campus MD 48,238
2 Ohio State University-Main Campus OH 44,617
3 University of Arizona AZ 40,769
4 Purdue University-Main Campus IN 39,637
5 California State University-Fullerton CA 36,956

Schools with the largest enrollment offering Gerontology programs.

Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition

# School State Tuition
1 Collin County Community College District TX $1,864
2 Frederick Community College MD $3,772
3 York County Community College ME $3,866
4 Spokane Falls Community College WA $4,058
5 Anne Arundel Community College MD $4,178

Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Gerontology programs.

Top 5 Lowest Net Price

# School State Net Price
1 Frederick Community College MD $2,801
2 CUNY Brooklyn College NY $2,943
3 California State University-Los Angeles CA $4,113
4 CUNY York College NY $4,734
5 CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College NY $4,907

Schools with the lowest average net price for Gerontology programs.

Graduation Rates

59.36% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)

57.43% Average Graduation Rate

144 Institutions Reporting

43.88% - 71.16% Interquartile Range

Graduation/completion rates for Gerontology programs across institutions.

Related specializations

Other NCES program codes in the 00.30 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.

Degree Levels (IPEDS)

Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 00.3011 in the survey year used in our extract (19 total across levels below).

  • 3 Bachelor's (15.8% of IPEDS total)
  • 16 Master's (84.2% 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 $152,361. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Gerontology graduates alone.

Related occupations (BLS OEWS)

Occupation Mean annual wage U.S. employment
Registered Nurses$152,3613,282,010
Mental Health Counselors——

Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.

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

$152,361 Average Wage in Workforce

The average salary for Gerontology majors is $152,361.

Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Gerontology majors.

Occupations by Share

326,720 2023 Workforce

The number of Gerontology graduates in the workforce has been growing.

Various jobs filled by those with a major in Gerontology by share of the total number of graduates.

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Gerontology in the United States.

Workforce Age

N/A Average Age in 2023

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Gerontology.

Age distribution for Gerontology degree holders in the workforce.

Gender Distribution

Gender distribution data is not available for this degree program.

Gender distribution of Gerontology degree recipients.

Race and Ethnicity Distribution

Race and ethnicity distribution data is not available for this degree program.

Racial and ethnic distribution of Gerontology degree recipients.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Gerontology are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

Distribution of degree types awarded in Gerontology.

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Gerontology field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Required Skills

Gerontology majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.

Rating of how necessary various skills are for Gerontology 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 Gerontology majors.

About

Gerontology

In 2023, 870 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Gerontology.

CIP Code

00.3011 - Gerontology

What the data shows

Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $152,361. The largest mapped role by headcount is Registered Nurses (3,282,010 U.S. jobs in OEWS).

Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $9,739 in-state at public colleges and $38,824 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.