Literature
Contains Stem Majors
Add ComparisonIn 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of Literature degree recipients are New York, NY, Pittsburgh, PA, and Sewanee, TN. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of Literature degree recipients are Sewanee, TN, North Bennington, VT, and Hamilton College, NY. The most common degree awarded to students studying Literature is a bachelors degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Literature and the types of students that study this field. New York University awards the most degrees in Literature in the US, but Center for Advanced Studies On Puerto Rico and the Caribbean and The University of the South have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Literature.
Tuition costs for Literature majors are, on average, $7,800 for in-state public colleges, and $42,900 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Literature programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (66 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (488 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Literature, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (488 completions in 2024).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Literature programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
New York University has the most Literature degree recipients, with 130 degrees awarded in 2024.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Literature.
Out of all institutions that offer Literature programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Center for Advanced Studies On Puerto Rico and the Caribbean has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Literature, with 27.1%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Literature by year.
Information on the businesses and industries that employ English graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.
The average salary for English majors is $93,508 and the most common occupations are Elementary & middle school teachers, Postsecondary teachers, and Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers.
The industry that employs the most English majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Not specified metal industries.
The average salary for English majors is $93,508 and the most common occupations are Elementary & middle school teachers, Postsecondary teachers, and Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for English majors.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of English majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that English 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 English majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & middle school teachers, Postsecondary teachers, and Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of English majors working as Editors, Technical writers, and Writers & authors.
The highest paid occupations by median income for English majors are Furniture finishers, Surgeons, and Physicians.
The number of English graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.26%, from 1.58M in 2023 to 1.62M in 2024.
The largest single share of English graduates go on to work as Elementary & middle school teachers (6.3%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in English by share of the total number of graduates.
The most common industries that employ English majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Legal services.
The highest paying industries of English majors, by average wage, are Not specified metal industries, Tobacco manufacturing, and Aluminum production & processing.
The number of English graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.26%, from 1.58M in 2023 to 1.62M in 2024.
The industry which employs the most English graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in English.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of English majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that English 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 English. The most common ages of employees with this major are 38 and 37 years old, which represent 2.82% and 2.8% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Literature are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
The most common degree types held by the working population in English are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.
This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Literature.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Literature 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 Bachelors Degree recipients in Literature.
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 Japan that hold English degrees (5.82 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 China (21,569 degree recipients).
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Literature field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Literature majors need many skills, but most especially Writing. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Literature majors need more than the average amount of Writing, Reading Comprehension, and Active Learning.
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 Literature 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 Writing is very distinctive for majors, but the Writing, Reading Comprehension, and Speaking are the three most important skills for people in the field.
