The data team at Realtor.com did some complicated math (also factoring in a bit of geography) to determine how much home a typical graduate can afford after working for 10 years, based on their major.
It’s the classic college-age query: “What’s your major?” But maybe the real question should be: What kind of house do you want to live in?
Here’s a nonshocker: Not all college majors are created equal, especially when you consider those four years of tuition as an investment in future earnings. A few years down the road, when you’re ready to settle down and purchase a home, your specific college concentration may very well have a lot to do with how much you can afford.
Despite the controversy around rising tuition and student debt that make some doubt whether a college degree is still worth it, a 2014 analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows the average value of a college degree has remained near its all-time high since 1970.
According to PayScale, a midcareer employee with a bachelor’s degree earns a median salary of $77,006, meaning he or she can afford a house costing up to $341,000. That’s about 60% more than a high school graduate.
Out of all 300-plus majors, petroleum engineering came out on top: With a midcareer salary of $168,000, these grads can afford to buy as high as $744,000, more than three times the national median list price. Even those fresh out of college land impressive starting salaries of $101,000. Unsurprisingly, other engineering branches (e.g., chemical engineering, computer science engineering) are also more likely to earn six-figure salaries with a few years’ experience.
