Degrees: job market rankings

Which degrees match open jobs. 45 rankings, latest November 2026. Open one to see the full list, the data and the method.

Nationwide

Degrees rankings, nationwide
Ranking	First place	Ranked
Degree fields with the most open jobs	Business administration and management62,474 jobs	16
Degree fields with the fewest open jobs	Nursing343 jobs	16
Degree fields with the highest posted pay	Computer science and IT$188k	15
Degree fields projected to grow fastest	Math and statistics+25.2%	16
Degree fields projected to grow slowest	Education+1.6%	16
Education levels with the most open jobs	Bachelor's degree205,934 jobs	8
Education levels with the fewest open jobs	Postsecondary nondegree award544 jobs	8
Education levels with the highest posted pay	Doctoral or professional degree$180k	8
Occupations needing a bachelor's degree with the most open jobs	Software developers15,559 jobs	100
Occupations needing a master's degree with the most open jobs	Computer and information research scientists2,549 jobs	15
Occupations needing a doctoral or professional degree with the most open jobs	Lawyers3,758 jobs	10
Occupations needing an associate degree or a certificate with the most open jobs	Paralegals and legal assistants1,728 jobs	11
Occupations needing no college degree with the most open jobs	Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel8,206 jobs	36
Occupations needing a bachelor's degree with the highest posted pay	Architectural and engineering managers$215k	88
Occupations needing a bachelor's degree projected to grow fastest	Data scientists+34.6%	87
Occupations needing a bachelor's degree projected to shrink most	Computer programmers−7.3%	87
Occupations needing no college degree with the highest posted pay	First-line supervisors of security workers$209k	18
Occupations needing no college degree projected to grow fastest	Transportation, storage, and distribution managers+6.1%	22
Occupations needing no college degree projected to shrink most	Bill and account collectors−10.4%	22
Job families where the most jobs need a four-year degree	Product99%	20
Job families where the fewest jobs need a four-year degree	Administration11%	20
Industries where the most jobs need a four-year degree	Aerospace & Defense94%	16
Industries where the fewest jobs need a four-year degree	Retail & E-commerce74%	16
Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree	New York1,666 jobs	63
Cities where the biggest share of jobs do not need a four-year degree	Knoxville25%	100

By region

Degrees rankings, by region
Ranking	First place	Ranked
Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Northeast	New York1,666 jobs	36
Cities where the biggest share of jobs do not need a four-year degree in the Northeast	Mechanicsburg47%	38
Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in New England	Boston390 jobs	14
Cities where the biggest share of jobs do not need a four-year degree in New England	Manchester21%	15
Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Mid-Atlantic	New York1,666 jobs	47
Cities where the biggest share of jobs do not need a four-year degree in the Mid-Atlantic	Mechanicsburg47%	53
Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Southeast	Atlanta528 jobs	72
Cities where the biggest share of jobs do not need a four-year degree in the Southeast	Fort Myers28%	69
Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Southwest	Austin493 jobs	38
Cities where the biggest share of jobs do not need a four-year degree in the Southwest	Corpus Christi33%	37
Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Midwest	Chicago684 jobs	51
Cities where the biggest share of jobs do not need a four-year degree in the Midwest	Rolling Meadows26%	54
Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Great Lakes	Chicago684 jobs	36
Cities where the biggest share of jobs do not need a four-year degree in the Great Lakes	Rolling Meadows26%	39
Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Mountain West	Denver260 jobs	15
Cities where the biggest share of jobs do not need a four-year degree in the Mountain West	Salt Lake City19%	14
Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Pacific Northwest	Seattle316 jobs	8
Cities where the biggest share of jobs do not need a four-year degree in the Pacific Northwest	Portland19%	12
Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the West Coast	San Francisco902 jobs	47
Cities where the biggest share of jobs do not need a four-year degree in the West Coast	Corona31%	53

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