Business Administration degree: salary, jobs & colleges

Bachelor's graduates in business administration earn a median $64,798 four years after finishing, across 1104 U.S. colleges. At ages 25-34, people whose degree is in business management and administration earn $65,628, $3,579 more than all bachelor's holders. The most common job is other managers (5%).

Graduates, 4 years out
$64,798

Median across 1104 colleges; middle half $57,892–$72,810.

College Scorecard field of study (graduates who received federal aid)

All workers ages 25-34 with this degree
$65,628

Middle half $42,771–$94,452. 23,181 survey respondents.

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata; field "Business Management And Administration"; EducationGuide calculation

Compared with
  • All bachelor's, 25-34$62,049
  • High school, 25-34$35,638
  • This degree vs high school+$29,990/yr

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers not in school

Median federal debt at graduation
$25,799

Median across colleges reporting.

College Scorecard field of study

Jobs business administration graduates hold

What employed 25-34-year-olds whose bachelor's is in business management and administration actually do, with U.S. wages and the outlook for each job. The first column comes from the Census survey; wages and growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

JobShare of graduatesU.S. median wageJobs growth 2025-35Typical entryInterests
Other Managers5%————
Accountants And Auditors3%$83,680+5.0%Bachelor's degreeCEI
Human Resources Workers3%$76,700+6.1%——
Customer Service Representatives3%$44,770-5.3%High school diploma or equivalentCES
Financial Managers3%$166,570+9.7%Bachelor's degreeEC
First-Line Supervisors Of Retail Sales Workers3%$48,520-3.7%High school diploma or equivalentECS
General And Operations Managers2%$105,770+5.0%Bachelor's degreeEC
Sales Representatives, Wholesale And Manufacturing2%$76,460———

These 8 jobs account for 25% of employed graduates: people with this degree spread across many kinds of work.

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, bachelor's as highest degree, employed); BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35; O*NET 31.0 interest codes (R realistic, I investigative, A artistic, S social, E enterprising, C conventional).

Business Administration earnings by state

Two views of pay: recent graduates of the state's colleges four years out (College Scorecard), and everyone ages 25-34 living in the state with this field of degree (Census). States show a figure only with at least 3 colleges or 100 survey respondents.

StateGraduates, 4 yrs (colleges)Ages 25-34 (respondents)
Alabama$58,176 (21)$57,721 (269)
Alaska$70,539 (3)—
Arizona$77,951 (7)$64,018 (401)
Arkansas$51,384 (15)$59,820 (148)
California$73,213 (58)$74,852 (2,959)
Colorado$73,398 (12)$73,321 (545)
Connecticut$78,542 (15)$70,383 (248)
Delaware$63,294 (4)—
District of Columbia$88,133 (6)—
Florida$61,062 (52)$58,469 (1,547)
Georgia$61,874 (38)$64,767 (924)
Hawaii$56,502 (4)—
Idaho$69,630 (7)$56,671 (108)
Illinois$65,534 (38)$68,022 (919)
Indiana$64,970 (32)$54,991 (384)
Iowa$67,813 (20)$61,930 (206)
Kansas$64,798 (17)$60,915 (197)
Kentucky$59,415 (11)$55,622 (237)
Louisiana$52,384 (20)$50,116 (221)
Maine$61,650 (10)—
Maryland$70,427 (13)$63,545 (426)
Massachusetts$70,525 (33)$76,144 (747)
Michigan$67,148 (31)$62,563 (649)
Minnesota$68,086 (27)$66,821 (406)
Mississippi$52,789 (13)$52,473 (136)
Missouri$59,285 (26)$64,797 (437)
Montana$57,892 (5)—
Nebraska$62,724 (12)$60,915 (212)
Nevada$60,273 (3)$59,820 (180)
New Hampshire$72,293 (8)$74,543 (103)
New Jersey$69,864 (26)$72,618 (724)
New Mexico$56,638 (4)—
New York$63,979 (73)$69,208 (1,632)
North Carolina$59,927 (38)$67,032 (850)
North Dakota$67,169 (9)—
Ohio$65,925 (56)$63,545 (704)
Oklahoma$58,523 (18)$54,991 (210)
Oregon$73,660 (11)$65,628 (280)
Pennsylvania$66,210 (71)$63,961 (833)
Rhode Island$76,285 (8)—
South Carolina$56,178 (30)$51,325 (382)
South Dakota$59,416 (8)—
Tennessee$61,038 (28)$62,968 (521)
Texas$62,327 (58)$62,968 (1,806)
Utah$84,270 (8)$71,594 (243)
Vermont$73,203 (5)—
Virginia$68,296 (28)$67,032 (644)
Washington$72,698 (22)$78,204 (590)
West Virginia$54,659 (13)—
Wisconsin$66,379 (28)$61,919 (372)

College Scorecard field of study (median of each college's graduates); Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata; EducationGuide calculations.

Colleges where business administration graduates earn the most

In the states we cover so far (Florida, Virginia, California): 70 in Florida, 32 in Virginia, 63 in California offer this major. Open a college to see cost to finish and payback for your income.

#CollegeEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
1University of California-BerkeleyCA$144,599$12,195
2Washington and Lee UniversityVA$121,699—
3William & MaryVA$111,366$19,812
4California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoCA$110,902$17,000
5University of Southern CaliforniaCA$109,128$17,375
6University of San FranciscoCA$104,390$24,602
7University of RichmondVA$103,856$20,500
8Pepperdine UniversityCA$91,227$28,000
9Dominican University of CaliforniaCA$88,913$27,000
10University of RedlandsCA$85,278$27,000
11George Mason UniversityVA$85,224$23,471
12James Madison UniversityVA$85,137$19,750

College Scorecard field of study. Colleges meeting our core-data standard; online campuses left out.

Business Administration degree questions

How much do Business Administration graduates make?

Business Administration graduates earn a median $64,798 four years after finishing, across 1104 U.S. colleges that report it (the middle half of colleges: $57,892 to $72,810; College Scorecard, graduates who received federal aid). Among all workers ages 25-34 whose bachelor's degree is in business management and administration, the median is $65,628 (Census ACS 2020-2024).

Is a Business Administration degree worth it?

At ages 25-34, people with a bachelor's in business management and administration earn a median $65,628: $3,579 more than all bachelor's degree holders ($62,049) and $29,990 more than high school graduates ($35,638). EducationGuide calculation from Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers not in school.

What jobs do Business Administration graduates get?

Among employed 25-34-year-olds whose bachelor's is in business management and administration, the most common jobs are other managers (5%), accountants and auditors (3%), human resources workers (3%).

How much do Business Administration graduates earn in Florida?

Across 52 Florida colleges reporting, Business Administration graduates earn a median $61,062 four years after graduating; at ages 25-34, Floridians with this field of degree earn $58,469.

Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey microdata; Bureau of Labor Statistics; O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0). Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all degrees
Cite this: “Business Administration degree: salary, jobs and colleges,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/degrees/business-administration.