Compared with other broad field of bachelor’s degree categories, education has a distinctly older age profile (Figure 1).

In 2025, the largest share of education degree holders was 65 years and over, accounting for about 42% of degree holders in this field. This was higher than the share of people in that age group (about 21%) in other fields of study, including arts and humanities, science and engineering, and business.

Education also had the smallest share of younger adults: only 19% of education degree holders were ages 25 to 39, compared with about 30% of business degree holders, 35% of those with degrees in arts, humanities, and other fields, and 36% of those with degrees in science, engineering, and related fields.

Women have historically accounted for the majority of education bachelor's degree holders. But the age distribution of women and men in this field has shifted over time (Figures 2a and b).

In 2010, women ages 40 to 64 accounted for the largest share (39%) of education bachelor’s degree holders. By 2025, women ages 65 and over made up the largest share (32%), followed by women ages 40 to 64 (31%).

Among women, those ages 25 to 39 consistently accounted for the smallest share of education bachelor's degree holders, declining from 18% overall in 2010 to 15% in 2025.

The age shift was similar among men. Among education bachelor's degree holders, the share of men ages 40 to 64 declined from 13% in 2010 to 8% in 2025, while the share ages 65 and over increased from 7% to 10%.

Men ages 25 to 39, with a decline from 2010 to 2025, consistently made up only 4% to 5% of education bachelor's degree holders.

These patterns could partly reflect cohort replacement over time: older degree holders aging into the 65-and-over group and younger cohorts with historically lower rates of education degree attainment moving into the 40-to-64 group.

Students’ expected earnings after graduation may be one factor influencing their choice of field of degree. Teachers are among the nation's most educated workers, yet their earnings lag those of similarly educated workers.

However, both the share of education degree holders and the earnings of education graduates vary substantially across states.

Wyoming and Mississippi had some of the largest shares of bachelor’s degree holders with an education degree (19%), while Washington, D.C., had the smallest share (4%).

In states with smaller shares of people with education degrees, education graduates ages 25 to 39 tended to have higher median earnings (Figure 3).

For example, although Washington, D.C., had the smallest share of education majors among bachelor’s degree holders, its median earnings for those with degrees in education ($82,011) were one of the highest in the nation.

Other states with high median earnings for education graduates, including Massachusetts, Washington, and New Jersey, all had shares of education majors below 10%.

In contrast, Mississippi had one of the lowest median earnings for education graduates ($47,604) and a high share of education degree holders (19%). Similarly, Oklahoma ($47,801) and Missouri ($48,544) had lower median earnings and shares of education majors of 14% or more. Median earnings did not differ significantly among these three states.

Multiple factors contribute to variation in earnings among education degree holders across states, including labor market conditions, regional wage levels, and the occupations and industries in which education graduates work.

States with higher median earnings among education degree holders also tend to have overall median earnings above the national median, suggesting that broader labor market and wage conditions — not simply the share of education graduates — likely contribute to these differences. Alaska is a notable exception: although overall median earnings in the state were at or below the national median, education bachelor’s degree holders in the state had comparatively high median earnings.

Although this analysis does not examine those factors, the Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes tool allows users to explore employment and earnings outcomes for graduates by field of study.

The Field of Bachelor’s Degree in the United States: 2022 report and the accompanying Detailed Table Package also provide insight into field of degree and median earnings based on social and demographic characteristics and by state and select metropolitan statistical areas.   

All comparative statements have undergone statistical testing and, unless otherwise noted, are statistically significant at the 90% confidence level. In this story, references to bachelor’s degree holders include adults age 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher. All data are subject to sampling, nonsampling, modeling and other errors.

The technical documentation provides more information on data collection, standards and accuracy.