Final Average Starting Salary for Class of 2022 Rises More Than 7%

BETHLEHEM, PA—The overall average starting salary for Class of 2022 graduates who earned a bachelor’s degree is up 7.4%, according to results of a new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

NACE’s Summer 2023 Salary Survey report provides actual starting salaries and serves as the final salary report for the Class of 2022. The overall average salary for Class of 2022 graduates climbed to $60,028 from $55,911 for the Class of 2021.

“This notable increase for the Class of 2022 comes on the heels of the overall average salary for Class of 2021 graduates inching up just 1.2% as the job market was still experiencing the effects of the pandemic,” says Shawn VanDerziel, NACE President & CEO.

“We can attribute the jump in starting salary for the Class of 2022 to the large increase in new college graduate hiring—and the competition for this talent. Our Job Outlook 2022 Spring Update survey provided evidence of this surge as participating employers planned a robust hiring increase of 31.6% for the Class of 2022.”

Although the overall salary grew for the Class of 2022, the five highest-paid categories of majors remain in the same order as they were for the Class of 2021, with computer and information sciences topping the list at an overall average starting salary of $86,964. (See Figure 1.)

Engineering ($76,249) and mathematics and statistics ($76,186) also had average starting salaries that exceeded $75,000.

Class of 2022 master’s degree graduates also had average starting salaries that were higher than those registered for the Class of 2021 as STEM and business disciplines dominated the list. Computer and information sciences graduates were the highest paid among Class of 2022 master’s graduates with an overall average starting salary of $105,894, up 3% over last year’s average. (See Figure 2.)

Meanwhile, the average starting salaries in both engineering ($98,036) and engineering technologies ($90,607) topped $90,000.

More information about outcomes for the Class of 2022 will be available later this fall with the release of results from the annual First-Destination Survey.

Source: Summer 2023 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers. Data in this figure represent base salaries only for the Class of 2022 and do not include bonuses, commissions, fringe benefits, or overtime rates.

About the Summer 2023 Salary Survey: Data for NACE’s Summer 2023 Salary Survey were gathered from Class of 2022 graduates through December 31, 2022, and reported to NACE through May 25, 2023. The salary data were reported to NACE through its national Class of 2022 First-Destination Survey by approximately 346 colleges and universities nationwide, and represent data for almost 828,516 graduates at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree levels.

About the National Association of Colleges and Employers: Established in 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) is the only professional association in the United States that connects nearly 11,000 college career services professionals, more than 3,600 university relations and recruiting professionals, and more than 400 business solution providers that serve this community.

NACE is the premier source of market research on career readiness, the employment of recent college graduates, and the college-to-career transition. NACE forecasts hiring and trends in the job market; tracks salaries, recruiting and hiring practices, and student attitudes and outcomes; and identifies best practices and benchmarks.

NACE offers its members unparalleled research, networking and professional development opportunities, guidance on standards and ethics, and advocacy on key issues. For more information, visit www.naceweb.org. NACE maintains a virtual press room for the media.