The Most Employable College Degrees in 2026

Our latest report on employable college degrees points to a clear frontrunner: healthcare majors are projected to be in the highest demand in the years ahead, offering the kind of long-term stability that's getting harder to find elsewhere

• Healthcare grads have the best chance of finding work, with unemployment under 2% and a low risk of AI taking their jobs.
• Business degrees will open doors to 60K+ new management jobs over the next decade, paying around $123K on average.
• Retail majors face the worst career outlook, as the sector is projected to lose 162K jobs by 2034 while automation threatens 80% of tasks.

The research examined over 100 occupations across 24 degree areas to find which fields offer the best career prospects in the age of AI. The report looked at multiple labor factors, such as projected job growth through 2034, the number of new positions being created, and unemployment rates by occupation. The study also considered automation risk, public interaction requirements, and median salaries. Degrees were ranked by how well they protect you from unemployment and automation while still offering real opportunities.

You can access the complete research findings here.

1. Healthcare & Medicine

• Job growth through 2034: 7.8%
• New positions created: 37.1K
• Automation risk: 24%
• Unemployment rate: 1.2%
• Average median wage: $117.7K
• Public engagement score: 94/100

Healthcare degrees offer the best career prospects in America. The field is adding over 37K positions through 2034, including for nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and physical therapists. Healthcare grads also face just 1.2% unemployment, the lowest of any major, while earning nearly $118K on average. Another advantage of majoring here is that the healthcare field requires human interaction and faces low automation exposure at 24%, meaning AI can't replace what nurses and doctors actually do.

2. Computer Science & IT

Computer science comes second with the fastest growth rate at nearly 10% annually. The field will create 47K new jobs over the next decade, more than healthcare in raw numbers. Information security analysts, AI researchers, and software developers all fall under this umbrella. The catch is automation risk at 53%, higher than most fields, but it seems this won’t slow hiring. Plus, median pay in the sector reaches $110K, higher than most professions.

3. Personal Care & Cosmetology

Personal care ranks third, growing 10% yearly. Those with a degree in this field will be better off if they specialize in massage therapy or cosmetology, as there will be 30K new openings for these roles through 2034. These jobs pay far less at a $46K median, but they're also future-proof, as the chance of AI taking these roles is just 27%. That’s partly because the work demands constant human touch, scoring 94 in public engagement.

4. Business & Management

Business degrees will open doors to 60K+ new management jobs over the next decade. The field also promises higher salaries, as management analysts and administrative services managers with an MBA degree usually earn more than $120K yearly. Finding work here is easier, too, with an unemployment rate at 1.9%. Managerial work largely depends on leading people rather than a computer completing tasks, so the automation risk here is also low, at 35%.

5. Engineering

Engineering rounds out the top five employable degrees, with 8% growth. It is projected that there will be 41K new positions over the next decade for industrial engineers, electricians, and architectural managers. Grads here can also expect higher salaries, at around $110K, while facing low 3.9% unemployment odds. The field's automation risk also sits at 28%, meaning most engineering work still requires human problem-solving.