Network and System Administration/Administrator Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Network and System Administration/Administrator maps to BLS occupations averaging about $119,404, with roughly 690,980 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $5,312; common paths include Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers and Network and Computer Systems Administrators.
Key Statistics
Network and System Administration/Administrator: what the data shows
Common questions about network and system administration/administrator degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a network and system administration/administrator degree?
A Network and System Administration/Administrator program is classified under NCES CIP 11.1001 in the Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management field family (11.10).
A program that prepares individuals to manage the computer operations and control the system configurations emanating from a specific site or network hub. Includes instruction in computer hardware and software and applications; local area (LAN) and wide area (WAN) networking; principles of information systems security; disk space and traffic load monitoring; data backup; resource allocation; and setup and takedown procedures
IPEDS counted 196 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of network and system administration/administrator degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 11.10 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Computer Support Specialist (CIP 11.1006)
- Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management (CIP 11.10)
- Cybersecurity (CIP 11.1003)
- Information Technology Project Management (CIP 11.1005)
- System, Networking, and LAN/WAN Management/Manager (CIP 11.1002)
- Web/Multimedia Management and Webmaster (CIP 11.1004)
How long does it take to get a network and system administration/administrator degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 11.1001 in our file:
- 1,480 Associate (85.9% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 196 Bachelor's (11.4% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 47 Master's (2.7% 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 Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers (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 network and system administration/administrator degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Network and System Administration/Administrator 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers | 34,860 | $97,540 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | 318,570 | $96,800 |
| Computer Network Architects | 177,010 | $130,390 |
| Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators | 126,750 | $58,260 |
| Plant and System Operators, All Other | 15,950 | $61,710 |
| Chemical Plant and System Operators | 17,840 | $73,540 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a network and system administration/administrator degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management bachelor's program family: median debt $23,765, median earnings $85,063 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.41.
About 5.3% 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 $5,312 and median net price is $13,178.
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 Network and System Administration/Administrator and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$5,312 Median In-State Public
$28,074 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Network and System Administration/Administrator majors are, on average, $5,312 for in-state public colleges, and $28,074 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Network and System Administration/Administrator programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Network and System Administration/Administrator from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Network and System Administration/Administrator.
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 | Western Governors University | UT | 155,088 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Network and System Administration/Administrator programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute | NM | $1,095 |
| 2 | El Camino Community College District | CA | $1,144 |
| 3 | Lassen Community College | CA | $1,144 |
| 4 | San Diego City College | CA | $1,146 |
| 5 | San Diego City College | CA | $1,146 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Network and System Administration/Administrator programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 2 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 3 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
| 4 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
| 5 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Network and System Administration/Administrator programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Network and System Administration/Administrator 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 Network and System Administration/Administrator is in GA (22 completions). That state represents about 11.2% 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 PR (0.05% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| GA | 22 | 11.2% | 0.02% |
| IN | 22 | 11.2% | 0.02% |
| OK | 21 | 10.7% | 0.05% |
| WA | 20 | 10.2% | 0.03% |
| CT | 19 | 9.7% | 0.04% |
| MI | 16 | 8.2% | 0.01% |
| PR | 15 | 7.7% | 0.05% |
| UT | 15 | 7.7% | 0.01% |
| FL | 13 | 6.6% | 0.01% |
| NE | 11 | 5.6% | 0.04% |
| WI | 10 | 5.1% | 0.01% |
| NY | 6 | 3.1% | 0.00% |
| IA | 2 | 1.0% | 0.00% |
| KS | 2 | 1.0% | 0.01% |
| SD | 2 | 1.0% | 0.02% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 11.10 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Computer Support Specialist CIP 11.1006
- Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management CIP 11.10
- Cybersecurity CIP 11.1003
- Information Technology Project Management CIP 11.1005
- System, Networking, and LAN/WAN Management/Manager CIP 11.1002
- Web/Multimedia Management and Webmaster CIP 11.1004
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 11.1001 in the survey year used in our extract (1,723 total across levels below).
- 1,480 Associate (85.9% of IPEDS total)
- 196 Bachelor's (11.4% of IPEDS total)
- 47 Master's (2.7% 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 $119,404. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Network and System Administration/Administrator graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers | $105,634 | 34,860 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | $117,612 | 318,570 |
| Computer Network Architects | $154,087 | 177,010 |
| Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators | $88,747 | 126,750 |
| Plant and System Operators, All Other | $75,696 | 15,950 |
| Chemical Plant and System Operators | $91,076 | 17,840 |
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 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management CIP family (25 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Network and System Administration/Administrator graduate.
- $23,765 median federal loan debt among completers
- $85,063 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.41 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 5.3% 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
$119,404 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Network and System Administration/Administrator majors is $119,404.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Network and System Administration/Administrator majors.
Occupations by Share
690,980 2023 Workforce
The number of Network and System Administration/Administrator graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Network and System Administration/Administrator by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Network and System Administration/Administrator in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Network and System Administration/Administrator.
Age distribution for Network and System Administration/Administrator degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
196 Total Degrees Awarded
162 Male (82.65%)
34 Female (17.35%)
Gender distribution of Network and System Administration/Administrator degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
117 White (59.69%)
43 Hispanic or Latino (21.94%)
18 Black or African American (9.18%)
7 Asian (3.57%)
5 Two or More Races (2.55%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Network and System Administration/Administrator degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Network and System Administration/Administrator are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Network and System Administration/Administrator.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Network and System Administration/Administrator field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Network and System Administration/Administrator majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Network and System Administration/Administrator 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 Network and System Administration/Administrator majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to manage the computer operations and control the system configurations emanating from a specific site or network hub. Includes instruction in computer hardware and software and applications; local area (LAN) and wide area (WAN) networking; principles of information systems security; disk space and traffic load monitoring; data backup; resource allocation; and setup and takedown procedures
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Network and System Administration/Administrator.
CIP Code
11.1001 - Network and System Administration/Administrator
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $23,765 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $85,063, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.41. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Network and System Administration/Administrator graduate.
Men earned 20.0% of 4,755 Network and System Administration/Administrator completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $119,404. The largest mapped role by headcount is Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers (34,860 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $5,312 in-state at public colleges and $28,074 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.