Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist maps to BLS occupations averaging about $64,987, with roughly 1,596,050 workers nationwide in those roles. About 1,432 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median program completion runs near 60%.
Key Statistics
Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist: what the data shows
Common questions about speech-language pathology/pathologist degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a speech-language pathology/pathologist degree?
A Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist program is classified under NCES CIP 51.0203 in the Communication Disorders Sciences and Services field family (51.02).
A program that prepares individuals to evaluate the speaking, language interpretation, and related physiological and cognitive capabilities of children and/or adults and develop treatment and rehabilitative solutions in consultation with clinicians and educators. Includes instruction in the anatomy and physiology of speech and hearing, biomechanics of swallowing and vocal articulation, communications disorders, psychology of auditory function and cognitive communication, language assessment and diagnostic techniques, and rehabilitative and management therapies
IPEDS counted 1,432 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of speech-language pathology/pathologist degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 51.02 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Audiology/Audiologist (CIP 51.0202)
- Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist (CIP 51.0204)
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, General (CIP 51.0201)
How long does it take to get a speech-language pathology/pathologist degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.0203 in our file:
- 30 Associate (0.4% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 1,432 Bachelor's (20.7% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 5,463 Master's (78.8% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 9 Doctorate (0.1% 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 speech-language pathology/pathologist?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For 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%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a speech-language pathology/pathologist degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist 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, Postsecondary | 1,500,000 | — |
| Secondary School Teachers | 1,072,540 | $64,580 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a speech-language pathology/pathologist degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Communication Disorders Sciences and Services bachelor's program family: median debt $32,062, median earnings $58,928 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 1.30.
About 9.1% 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 $10,245 and median net price is $16,641.
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 Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$10,245 Median In-State Public
$42,955 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist majors are, on average, $10,245 for in-state public colleges, and $42,955 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
1,432 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 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 Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santiago Canyon College | CA | $1,164 |
| 2 | Pasadena City College | CA | $1,180 |
| 3 | Pasadena City College | CA | $1,180 |
| 4 | Santa Ana College | CA | $1,180 |
| 5 | San Joaquin Delta College | CA | $1,180 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santiago Canyon College | CA | $2,129 |
| 2 | San Joaquin Delta College | CA | $2,407 |
| 3 | San Joaquin Delta College | CA | $2,407 |
| 4 | Cerritos College | CA | $2,424 |
| 5 | Cerritos College | CA | $2,424 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist programs.
Graduation Rates
59.53% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
58.38% Average Graduation Rate
433 Institutions Reporting
46.91% - 70.94% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist 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 Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist is in CA (281 completions). That state represents about 19.6% 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 NV (0.31% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 281 | 19.6% | 0.06% |
| OK | 124 | 8.7% | 0.30% |
| TX | 95 | 6.6% | 0.03% |
| GA | 86 | 6.0% | 0.07% |
| VA | 82 | 5.7% | 0.07% |
| PA | 72 | 5.0% | 0.04% |
| PR | 70 | 4.9% | 0.24% |
| NV | 66 | 4.6% | 0.31% |
| CT | 55 | 3.8% | 0.11% |
| MS | 52 | 3.6% | 0.17% |
| NJ | 50 | 3.5% | 0.06% |
| NY | 50 | 3.5% | 0.02% |
| NE | 46 | 3.2% | 0.15% |
| MD | 37 | 2.6% | 0.05% |
| MO | 37 | 2.6% | 0.05% |
| OH | 30 | 2.1% | 0.02% |
| SC | 27 | 1.9% | 0.05% |
| KS | 26 | 1.8% | 0.07% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 51.02 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Audiology/Audiologist CIP 51.0202
- Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist CIP 51.0204
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, General CIP 51.0201
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 51.0203 in the survey year used in our extract (6,934 total across levels below).
- 30 Associate (0.4% of IPEDS total)
- 1,432 Bachelor's (20.7% of IPEDS total)
- 5,463 Master's (78.8% of IPEDS total)
- 9 Doctorate (0.1% 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 $64,987. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | $36,511 | 1,500,000 |
| Secondary School Teachers | $104,813 | 1,072,540 |
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 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services CIP family (62 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist graduate.
- $32,062 median federal loan debt among completers
- $58,928 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 1.30 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 9.1% 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
$40,621 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist majors is $40,621.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist majors.
Occupations by Share
1,596,050 2023 Workforce
The number of Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist.
Age distribution for Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
1,432 Total Degrees Awarded
40 Male (2.79%)
1,392 Female (97.21%)
Gender distribution of Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
827 White (57.75%)
341 Hispanic or Latino (23.81%)
104 Black or African American (7.26%)
69 Asian (4.82%)
52 Two or More Races (3.63%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist 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 Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to evaluate the speaking, language interpretation, and related physiological and cognitive capabilities of children and/or adults and develop treatment and rehabilitative solutions in consultation with clinicians and educators. Includes instruction in the anatomy and physiology of speech and hearing, biomechanics of swallowing and vocal articulation, communications disorders, psychology of auditory function and cognitive communication, language assessment and diagnostic techniques, and rehabilitative and management therapies
In 2023, 1,432 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist.
CIP Code
51.0203 - Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $32,062 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $58,928, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.30. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist graduate.
About 9.1% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians. That is a program-level mobility signal, not a national underemployment rate.
Women earned 96.5% of 7,213 Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $64,987. The largest mapped role by headcount is Teachers, Postsecondary (1,500,000 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $10,245 in-state at public colleges and $42,955 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.