{"h1":"Education levels with the highest posted pay","faq":[{"a":"Doctoral or professional degree has the highest median posted pay of the education levels: $180k a year.","q":"Which degree field or education level ranks first: education levels with the highest posted pay?"},{"a":"8 degrees have at least 300 open jobs, so the list has 8 entries.","q":"How many degrees are ranked?"},{"a":"An education level is the typical entry-level education the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists for an occupation. A level's score is the median advertised annual salary of its roles that post a salary range. A posting does not state a degree. Each is matched to its standard occupation, and the education shown is what the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists as typical for entering that occupation. Some employers ask for more or less, and about one posting in a hundred has an occupation we could not match, which is left out. Our board is professional roles, so it holds far more jobs that need a four-year degree than the economy as a whole. Only levels with at least 300 open jobs and 50 that post pay are ranked.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"Doctoral or professional degree has the highest median posted pay of the education levels: $180k a year.","minN":300,"rows":[{"n":5250,"bar":1,"key":"level:doctoral","sub":"Typical entry education","href":null,"name":"Doctoral or professional degree","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"5,250"},{"label":"Share of coded jobs","value":"2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$180k"},{"label":"Occupations at this level","value":"73"}],"value":180000,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"$180k"},{"n":4896,"bar":0.9972222222222222,"key":"level:master","sub":"Typical entry education","href":null,"name":"Master's degree","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"4,896"},{"label":"Share of coded jobs","value":"2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$180k"},{"label":"Occupations at this level","value":"40"}],"value":179500,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"$180k"},{"n":544,"bar":0.875,"key":"level:postnd","sub":"Typical entry education","href":null,"name":"Postsecondary nondegree award","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"544"},{"label":"Share of coded jobs","value":"0%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$158k"},{"label":"Occupations at this level","value":"51"}],"value":157500,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"$158k"},{"n":205934,"bar":0.8333333333333334,"key":"level:bach","sub":"Typical entry education","href":null,"name":"Bachelor's degree","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"205,934"},{"label":"Share of coded jobs","value":"82%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$150k"},{"label":"Occupations at this level","value":"177"}],"value":150000,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"$150k"},{"n":27189,"bar":0.6445833333333333,"key":"level:hs","sub":"Typical entry education","href":null,"name":"High school diploma or equivalent","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"27,189"},{"label":"Share of coded jobs","value":"11%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$116k"},{"label":"Occupations at this level","value":"326"}],"value":116025,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"$116k"},{"n":1413,"bar":0.5873013888888889,"key":"level:somecollege","sub":"Typical entry education","href":null,"name":"Some college, no degree","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"1,413"},{"label":"Share of coded jobs","value":"1%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$106k"},{"label":"Occupations at this level","value":"7"}],"value":105714.25,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"$106k"},{"n":4030,"bar":0.4861111111111111,"key":"level:assoc","sub":"Typical entry education","href":null,"name":"Associate degree","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"4,030"},{"label":"Share of coded jobs","value":"2%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$88k"},{"label":"Occupations at this level","value":"48"}],"value":87500,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"$88k"},{"n":1560,"bar":0.4305555555555556,"key":"level:none","sub":"Typical entry education","href":null,"name":"No formal educational credential","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Open jobs","value":"1,560"},{"label":"Share of coded jobs","value":"1%"},{"label":"Median posted pay","value":"$78k"},{"label":"Occupations at this level","value":"109"}],"value":77500,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"$78k"}],"slug":"education-levels-with-the-highest-posted-pay","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"us","kind":"national","name":"United States"},"title":"Education levels with the highest posted pay","family":"Degrees","method":["An education level is the typical entry-level education the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists for an occupation. A level's score is the median advertised annual salary of its roles that post a salary range.","A posting does not state a degree. Each is matched to its standard occupation, and the education shown is what the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists as typical for entering that occupation. Some employers ask for more or less, and about one posting in a hundred has an occupation we could not match, which is left out. Our board is professional roles, so it holds far more jobs that need a four-year degree than the economy as a whole. Only levels with at least 300 open jobs and 50 that post pay are ranked."],"builtAt":"2026-11-03T15:06:31.259Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"dg_levelpay","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles, matched to standard occupation (SOC) codes","Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025-35: typical entry-level education and projected employment change by occupation"],"baseline":null,"keyFacts":["#1 Doctoral or professional degree, Typical entry education: $180k","#2 Master's degree, Typical entry education: $180k","#3 Postsecondary nondegree award, Typical entry education: $158k","8 degrees ranked across all education levels","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"degrees","commentary":["Postsecondary nondegree award reaches #3 on a sample of 544 open jobs, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.","Bachelor's degree is the largest market in the top ten, with 205,934 open jobs behind its figure.","Degrees with fewer than 300 open jobs are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/education-levels-with-the-highest-posted-pay"}