Lay Ministry
Add ComparisonIn 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of Lay Ministry degree recipients are Grand Rapids, MI, Wyoming, MI, and Santa Clarita, CA. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of Lay Ministry degree recipients are Wyoming, MI, Lawrence, IN, and Mishawaka, IN. The most common degree awarded to students studying Lay Ministry is a masters degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Lay Ministry and the types of students that study this field. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary awards the most degrees in Lay Ministry in the US, but Westminster Theological Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Lay Ministry.
Tuition costs for Lay Ministry majors are, on average, $28,832 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Lay Ministry programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (72 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (732 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Lay Ministry, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (732 completions in 2024).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Lay Ministry programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary has the most Lay Ministry degree recipients, with 157 degrees awarded in 2024.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Lay Ministry.
Out of all institutions that offer Lay Ministry programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Westminster Theological Seminary has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Lay Ministry, with 57.1%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Lay Ministry by year.
Information on the businesses and industries that employ Theology graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.
The average salary for Theology majors is $68,677 and the most common occupations are Clergy, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Other managers.
The industry that employs the most Theology majors is Religious organizations, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Cutlery & hand tool manufacturing.
The average salary for Theology majors is $68,677 and the most common occupations are Clergy, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Other managers.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Theology majors.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Theology majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Theology majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
The most common occupations for Theology majors, by number of employees, are Clergy, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Other managers.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Theology majors working as Clergy, Religious workers, all other, and Directors, religious activities & education.
The highest paid occupations by median income for Theology majors are Surgeons, Nurse anesthetists, and Magnetic resonance imaging technologists.
The number of Theology graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 1%, from 330,301 in 2023 to 333,619 in 2024.
The most common industries that employ Theology majors, by number of employees, are Religious organizations, Elementary & secondary schools, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.
The highest paying industries of Theology majors, by average wage, are Cutlery & hand tool manufacturing, Fishing, hunting & trapping, and Animal food, grain & oilseed milling.
The number of Theology graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 1%, from 330,301 in 2023 to 333,619 in 2024.
The industry which employs the most Theology graduates by share is Religious organizations, followed by Elementary & secondary schools. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Theology.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Theology majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Theology majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Theology. The most common ages of employees with this major are 39 and 40 years old, which represent 2.47% and 2.46% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Lay Ministry are Masters Degree, Bachelors Degree, and Postbaccalaureate Certificate.
The most common degree types held by the working population in Theology are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Doctorate degree.
This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Lay Ministry.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Lay Ministry for each race & ethnicity.
In 2024, White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.
This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Masters Degree recipients in Lay Ministry.
White Female students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.
There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Uganda that hold Theology degrees (8.53 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is Korea (4,985 degree recipients).
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Lay Ministry field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lay Ministry majors need many skills, but most especially Social Perceptiveness. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Lay Ministry majors need more than the average amount of Management of Financial Resources, Management of Material Resources, and Operations Analysis.
These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Lay Ministry majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Management of Financial Resources is very distinctive for majors, but the Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, and Active Listening are the three most important skills for people in the field.
