The overall average starting salary for Class of 2022 graduates who earned a bachelor’s degree is up 7.4%, climbing to $60,028 from $55,911 for the Class of 2021, according to results of NACE’s Summer 2023 Salary Survey report, which provides actual starting salaries and serves as the final salary report for the Class of 2022.

The jump for the Class of 2022 can be attributed to the large increase in new college graduate hiring—and the competition for this talent—as NACE employers participating in the Job Outlook 2022 Spring Update survey planned a robust hiring increase of 31.6%.

This notable increase 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.

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.)

Like Class of 2022 bachelor’s degree graduates, master’s degree graduates from this class have average starting salaries that are substantially higher than those registered for the Class of 2021, with STEM and business disciplines dominating the list. Computer and information sciences graduates are the highest paid with an overall average starting salary of $105,894, up 3% over last year’s average. (See Figure 2.)

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.

Data in these figures represent base salaries only for the Class of 2022 and do not include bonuses, commissions, fringe benefits, or overtime rates. Data 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.