Labor and Industrial Relations Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Labor and Industrial Relations maps to BLS occupations averaging about $105,617, with roughly 1,160,120 workers nationwide in those roles. About 880 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median in-state published tuition is about $8,825.
Key Statistics
Labor and Industrial Relations: what the data shows
Common questions about labor and industrial relations degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a labor and industrial relations degree?
A Labor and Industrial Relations program is classified under NCES CIP 52.1002 in the Human Resources Management and Services field family (52.10).
A program that focuses on employee-management interactions and the management of issues and disputes regarding working conditions and worker benefit packages, and that may prepare individuals to function as labor or personnel relations specialists. Includes instruction in labor history, policies and strategies of the labor movement, union organization, labor-management negotiation, labor law and contract interpretation, labor economics, welfare and benefit packages, grievance procedures, and labor policy studies
IPEDS counted 880 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of labor and industrial relations degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 52.10 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Executive/Career Coaching (CIP 52.1006)
- Human Resources Development (CIP 52.1005)
- Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General (CIP 52.1001)
- Labor Studies (CIP 52.1004)
- Organizational Behavior Studies (CIP 52.1003)
How long does it take to get a labor and industrial relations degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 52.1002 in our file:
- 170 Associate (11.4% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 880 Bachelor's (58.8% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 446 Master's (29.8% 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 Industrial Engineers (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 52.1002, 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 labor and industrial relations degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Labor and Industrial Relations 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial Engineers | 350,230 | $101,140 |
| Public Relations Managers | 76,060 | $138,520 |
| Industrial-Organizational Psychologists | 1,050 | $109,840 |
| Industrial Machinery Mechanics | 421,940 | $63,760 |
| Public Relations Specialists | 280,590 | $69,780 |
| Commercial and Industrial Designers | 30,250 | $79,450 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a labor and industrial relations degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Human Resources Management and Services bachelor's program family: median debt $27,790, median earnings $68,069 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.55.
About 3.7% 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 $8,825 and median net price is $18,425.
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 Labor and Industrial Relations and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$8,825 Median In-State Public
$34,350 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Labor and Industrial Relations majors are, on average, $8,825 for in-state public colleges, and $34,350 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Labor and Industrial Relations programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Labor and Industrial Relations from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Labor and Industrial Relations.
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 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 4 | Western Governors University | UT | 155,088 |
| 5 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Labor and Industrial Relations programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Trade Technical College | CA | $1,238 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Trade Technical College | CA | $1,238 |
| 3 | Los Angeles City College | CA | $1,238 |
| 4 | Los Angeles City College | CA | $1,238 |
| 5 | Laney College | CA | $1,258 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Labor and Industrial Relations programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern Regional Technical College | GA | $813 |
| 2 | Texas A&M University-Central Texas | TX | $1,300 |
| 3 | Texas A&M University-Central Texas | TX | $1,300 |
| 4 | Joliet Junior College | IL | $1,672 |
| 5 | South Texas College | TX | $1,751 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Labor and Industrial Relations programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Labor and Industrial Relations 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 Labor and Industrial Relations is in NY (321 completions). That state represents about 36.5% 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 IA (0.35% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NY | 321 | 36.5% | 0.12% |
| NJ | 171 | 19.4% | 0.20% |
| IA | 166 | 18.9% | 0.35% |
| PA | 141 | 16.0% | 0.08% |
| MN | 34 | 3.9% | 0.04% |
| OH | 24 | 2.7% | 0.02% |
| PR | 11 | 1.2% | 0.04% |
| MI | 10 | 1.1% | 0.01% |
| MA | 2 | 0.2% | 0.00% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 52.10 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Executive/Career Coaching CIP 52.1006
- Human Resources Development CIP 52.1005
- Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General CIP 52.1001
- Labor Studies CIP 52.1004
- Organizational Behavior Studies CIP 52.1003
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 52.1002 in the survey year used in our extract (1,496 total across levels below).
- 170 Associate (11.4% of IPEDS total)
- 880 Bachelor's (58.8% of IPEDS total)
- 446 Master's (29.8% 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 $105,617. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Labor and Industrial Relations graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial Engineers | $130,739 | 350,230 |
| Public Relations Managers | $182,777 | 76,060 |
| Industrial-Organizational Psychologists | $141,278 | 1,050 |
| Industrial Machinery Mechanics | $77,720 | 421,940 |
| Public Relations Specialists | $95,096 | 280,590 |
| Commercial and Industrial Designers | $106,220 | 30,250 |
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 Human Resources Management and Services CIP family (34 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Labor and Industrial Relations graduate.
- $27,790 median federal loan debt among completers
- $68,069 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.55 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 3.7% 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
$105,617 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Labor and Industrial Relations majors is $105,617.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Labor and Industrial Relations majors.
Occupations by Share
1,160,120 2023 Workforce
The number of Labor and Industrial Relations graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Labor and Industrial Relations by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Labor and Industrial Relations in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Labor and Industrial Relations.
Age distribution for Labor and Industrial Relations degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
880 Total Degrees Awarded
408 Male (46.36%)
472 Female (53.64%)
Gender distribution of Labor and Industrial Relations degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
502 White (57.05%)
124 Hispanic or Latino (14.09%)
97 Asian (11.02%)
60 Black or African American (6.82%)
33 Two or More Races (3.75%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Labor and Industrial Relations degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Labor and Industrial Relations are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Labor and Industrial Relations.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Labor and Industrial Relations field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Labor and Industrial Relations majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Labor and Industrial Relations 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 Labor and Industrial Relations majors.
About
A program that focuses on employee-management interactions and the management of issues and disputes regarding working conditions and worker benefit packages, and that may prepare individuals to function as labor or personnel relations specialists. Includes instruction in labor history, policies and strategies of the labor movement, union organization, labor-management negotiation, labor law and contract interpretation, labor economics, welfare and benefit packages, grievance procedures, and labor policy studies
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Labor and Industrial Relations.
CIP Code
52.1002 - Labor and Industrial Relations
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $27,790 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $68,069, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.55. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Labor and Industrial Relations graduate.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $105,617. The largest mapped role by headcount is Industrial Engineers (350,230 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $8,825 in-state at public colleges and $34,350 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.