Human Resources degree: salary, jobs & colleges

Bachelor's graduates in human resources earn a median $68,118 four years after finishing, across 170 U.S. colleges. At ages 25-34, people whose degree is in human resources and personnel management earn $61,446, $603 less than all bachelor's holders. The most common job is human resources workers (26%).

Graduates, 4 years out
$68,118

Median across 170 colleges; middle half $62,392–$76,013.

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

All workers ages 25-34 with this degree
$61,446

Middle half $42,957–$86,296. 1,907 survey respondents.

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata; field "Human Resources And Personnel Management"; EducationGuide calculation

Compared with
  • All bachelor's, 25-34$62,049
  • High school, 25-34$35,638
  • This degree vs high school+$25,808/yr

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers not in school

Median federal debt at graduation
$26,625

Median across colleges reporting.

College Scorecard field of study

Jobs human resources graduates hold

What employed 25-34-year-olds whose bachelor's is in human resources and personnel management 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
Human Resources Workers26%$76,700+6.1%——
Human Resources Managers7%$149,280+5.5%Bachelor's degreeECS
Other Managers3%————
Customer Service Representatives2%$44,770-5.3%High school diploma or equivalentCES
Financial Managers2%$166,570+9.7%Bachelor's degreeEC
Secretaries And Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, And Executive2%$47,540-6.0%High school diploma or equivalentCES
Accountants And Auditors2%$83,680+5.0%Bachelor's degreeCEI
First-Line Supervisors Of Retail Sales Workers2%$48,520-3.7%High school diploma or equivalentECS

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).

Human Resources 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$59,824 (6)—
California$73,857 (11)$59,662 (179)
Colorado$73,403 (3)—
Florida$64,909 (4)—
Georgia$64,973 (3)—
Illinois$72,050 (11)—
Indiana$71,644 (4)—
Iowa$63,210 (6)—
Kansas$66,759 (4)—
Michigan$71,108 (14)$62,563 (109)
Minnesota$74,358 (9)—
Missouri$62,888 (4)—
New Jersey$74,442 (6)$71,068 (107)
New York$65,014 (7)$79,431 (109)
North Carolina$62,841 (3)—
Ohio$70,060 (14)—
Oklahoma$69,235 (3)—
Pennsylvania$81,755 (16)$59,662 (109)
Texas$66,719 (13)$68,216 (163)
Utah$72,862 (3)—
Wisconsin$67,479 (4)—

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

Colleges where human resources graduates earn the most

In the states we cover so far (Florida, Virginia, California): 9 in Florida, 7 in Virginia, 20 in California offer this major. Open a college to see cost to finish and payback for your income.

#CollegeEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
1University of RichmondVA$92,389$19,500
2Pitzer CollegeCA$89,636—
3University of the PacificCA$75,444$28,125
4Santa Clara UniversityCA$75,430—
5San Francisco State UniversityCA$75,207—
6Fresno Pacific UniversityCA$74,265$27,155
7California State University-Long BeachCA$73,857$12,733
8Rollins CollegeFL$72,876—
9Florida International UniversityFL$67,696$23,125
10Simpson UniversityCA$65,797—
11California State University-Dominguez HillsCA$64,677—
12California State University-FresnoCA$64,479$15,745

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

Human Resources degree questions

How much do Human Resources graduates make?

Human Resources graduates earn a median $68,118 four years after finishing, across 170 U.S. colleges that report it (the middle half of colleges: $62,392 to $76,013; College Scorecard, graduates who received federal aid). Among all workers ages 25-34 whose bachelor's degree is in human resources and personnel management, the median is $61,446 (Census ACS 2020-2024).

Is a Human Resources degree worth it?

At ages 25-34, people with a bachelor's in human resources and personnel management earn a median $61,446: $603 less than all bachelor's degree holders ($62,049) and $25,808 more than high school graduates ($35,638). EducationGuide calculation from Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers not in school.

What jobs do Human Resources graduates get?

Among employed 25-34-year-olds whose bachelor's is in human resources and personnel management, the most common jobs are human resources workers (26%), human resources managers (7%), other managers (3%). Human Resources Workers earn a U.S. median $76,700.

How much do Human Resources graduates earn in Florida?

Across 4 Florida colleges reporting, Human Resources graduates earn a median $64,909 four years after graduating.

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
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Cite this: “Human Resources degree: salary, jobs and colleges,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/degrees/human-resources.