Average starting salaries for graduates in the college class of 2022 are a mixed bag, but mostly expected to increase, according to data from the Winter 2022 Salary Survey released by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Computer sciences majors are again projected to be the highest-paid group of majors at $75,900 and have the second-highest projected increase this year, 5.2%. They were also the highest-paid category last year. Engineering graduates are likely to be the second-highest paid with a projected average salary of $73,922, a 4% increase from last year’s average salary projection.
Projections for the class of 2022 range from an increase of 5.4% for both math and sciences majors and agriculture and natural resources majors to a decrease of 14.8% for humanities majors.
“This is unlike what we saw last year at this time. Then, employers projected increases in all reported categories of majors at the bachelor’s degree level, and now we’re seeing some majors lose ground in terms of starting salaries,” said Shawn VanDerziel, NACE executive director. “However, it is important to keep in mind that these are projections, and it is very early in the salary-reporting cycle for the class of 2022.”
The overall average salary projection for business majors is 3.1% higher than last year’s projection, nearly double that of last year’s projected increase of 1.6%.
Business majors also dominate NACE’s list of top bachelor’s degree majors in demand with six of the 10 represented in this category. Several business majors — finance, accounting, and business administration/management — and computer science graduates are most in demand at the bachelor’s-degree level this year as 60% or more of respondents anticipate hiring them.
Two engineering majors in particular — electrical engineering and mechanical engineering — also are among the top bachelor’s degrees in demand with nearly half of respondents planning to hire them.
| Broad Category | 2022 Salary Projection | 2021 Salary Projection | % Change |
| Computer Sciences | $75,900 | $72,173 | 5.2% |
| Engineering | $73,922 | $71,088 | 4.0% |
| Math & Sciences | $66,760 | $63,316 | 5.4% |
| Social Sciences | $61,173 | $59,919 | 2.1% |
| Business | $60,695 | $58,869 | 3.1% |
| Agriculture & Natural Resources | $57,807 | $54,857 | 5.4% |
| Communications | $55,455 | $58,174 | -4.7% |
| Humanities | $50,681 | $59,500 | -14.8% |
NACE’s figures are for base salaries and do not include bonuses, commissions, fringe benefits or overtime rates. A total of 124 NACE employer members took part in the survey.
