Best Schools for History
History graduates earn a median of $52,300 within four years of graduating, ranking #221 out of 283 tracked majors — 16% below the median across all fields. There are 584 colleges nationwide with tracked earnings for this major, producing 18,677 recent graduates.
Where you study matters: Dartmouth College graduates earn $136,403 while Fairmont State University graduates earn $28,802 — a $107,601 difference. Factors like location, employer networks, co-op programs, and curriculum focus drive this gap. Across all fields, though, which major you pick separates earnings more than which college does.
Early career salary growth is modest: History graduates see an average 5% increase between year 1 and year 2 post-graduation, reflecting career advancement and skill development in the first years after college.
Public vs Private: History
Private schools produce $8,451 more in early earnings on average for History graduates. Factor in tuition difference to calculate which offers better ROI.
History by State
Also by state: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Washington DC, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Top History Schools by Graduate Earnings
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH · Private
Duke University
Durham, NC · Private
Yale University
New Haven, CT · Private
Amherst College
Amherst, MA · Private
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, VA · Private
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY · Private
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA · Private
Brown University
Providence, RI · Private
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY · Private
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ · Private
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA · Private
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA · Private
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL · Private
Colgate University
Hamilton, NY · Private
Georgetown University
Washington, DC · Private
New York University
New York, NY · Private
Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, VA · Public
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, MA · Private
Fordham University
Bronx, NY · Private
University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA · Public
George Washington University
Washington, DC · Private
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA · Private
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN · Private
Emory University
Atlanta, GA · Private
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN · Private
University of Scranton
Scranton, PA · Private
Bowie State University
Bowie, MD · Public
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA · Public
Norwich University
Northfield, VT · Private
Binghamton University
Vestal, NY · Public
Tufts University
Medford, MA · Private
California State University-East Bay
Hayward, CA · Public
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY · Private
Citadel Military College of South Carolina
Charleston, SC · Public
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
New York, NY · Public
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL · Private
Monmouth University
West Long Branch, NJ · Private
William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA · Public
Mount Saint Mary College
Newburgh, NY · Private
College of Staten Island CUNY
Staten Island, NY · Public
Barnard College
New York, NY · Private
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI · Public
University of California-San Diego
La Jolla, CA · Public
CUNY Lehman College
Bronx, NY · Public
The University of Texas at Dallas
Richardson, TX · Public
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA · Public
University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
Tacoma, WA · Public
Oberlin College
Oberlin, OH · Private
Hobart William Smith Colleges
Geneva, NY · Private
Showing top 50 of 584 schools. View all or filter by state above.
Majors with Similar Earnings
Frequently Asked Questions
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Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median 2 years after graduation for bachelor's degree holders, from the field-of-study file last updated June 2026. Institution-level figures elsewhere on the site come from the June 2026 release — Scorecard publishes the two separately.
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