Computer science ranks third most in-demand US bachelor’s degree

The Winter 2026 Salary Survey by the U.S. National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found finance graduates were the most sought after, followed by mechanical engineering, with 61.3% of responding firms planning to recruit from each major.

Computer science ranked third at 60%, while accounting and business administration or management completed the top five with 58.7% hiring interest.

NACE collected responses from 150 member organizations between Oct. 8 and Nov. 30, 2025, according to CNBC.

Students a class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Photo courtesy of MIT

The findings come amid a challenging entry-level labor market. Cengage Group’s 2025 Graduate Employability Report said only 30% of graduates were working in their field, while more than 75% of employers reported hiring the same number or fewer entry-level staff in 2025 than a year earlier.

Despite hiring pressures, projected starting salaries for 2026 graduates increased across most fields in the NACE survey, with top-paying majors including computer science, engineering, and mathematics, as reported by Fortune.

Computer science graduates in 2026 are expected to earn the highest starting salaries of $81,535, up nearly 7% from last year.

Pay data also highlights the long-term value of technical majors. A Federal Reserve Bank of New York report based on 2024 U.S. Census data found computer engineering and computer science to be the highest-paying and second-highest majors five years after graduation, with median annual earnings of $90,000 and $87,000.

Engineering majors more broadly reported median early-career pay above $75,000, compared with overall U.S. median personal income of just over $45,000, and maintained strong long-term earnings, with top engineering fields reaching at least $100,000 for workers aged 35 to 45.