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AI Exposure vs. Pay by College Major: The 2026 MajorMatch Data Study

How much of the work that graduates of 151 college majors do could AI speed up, and do those majors pay more or less? Original analysis of 2.6 million Census records and 796 occupations.

By Sonny Howard, founder of MajorMatch · Published · Analysis and code checked against the source files · Download the data (CSV)

Quick answer

The better a job pays, the more of its work AI can speed up. Across 796 U.S. occupations, the best-paid fifth of jobs scores 46 out of 100 on AI exposure, against 18 for the lowest-paid fifth. College graduates feel this most. The jobs they hold score 43, compared with 24 for workers with a high school diploma or less. By major, computing and math-heavy fields are the most exposed. Nursing and other hands-on health fields are the least exposed, and many of them still pay well. Exposure means AI can do or speed up a task. It is not a forecast of job losses.

2.6×AI exposure of the best-paid fifth of jobs vs. the lowest-paid fifth
43 vs. 24Exposure of jobs held by college grads vs. workers with a high school diploma or less
66% vs. 6%Computer science vs. nursing grads working in high-exposure jobs

Most talk about AI and jobs is guesswork. Will it hit truck drivers or lawyers? Coders or nurses? We wanted an answer families can check. So we took one of the best-known published measures of how much of each job generative AI could speed up, and joined it to two federal datasets: what each occupation pays, and which jobs graduates of each college major actually hold. The result is a score for 151 majors, built only from public data. The method, the mapping rules and the datasets are published below.

What did the 2026 study find?

  1. The best-paid fifth of U.S. jobs (median pay $83,820 and up) scores 46 out of 100 on AI exposure, about 2.6 times the 18 scored by the lowest-paid fifth.
  2. Jobs held by college graduates score 43 on AI exposure, versus 24 for workers with a high school diploma or less: 1.8 times as exposed.
  3. Computer science (54.7) and computer engineering (54.6) top our list of 151 majors. About two in three of their graduates (66% and 67%) work in high-exposure jobs, meaning a score of 50 or more out of 100 (tasks that need extra software on top of the AI model count as half).
  4. Nursing graduates earn a median $93,400 working full time, yet only 5.5% work in high-exposure jobs. Nursing, therapy and pre-med land in the least-exposed quarter on both AI measures we tested.
  5. Math and money majors (actuarial science, accounting, finance, statistics, economics) are in the most-exposed quarter on both measures. Computer science is not: the second measure ranks it #93 of 151.

Do higher-paying jobs have more AI exposure?

Yes, and the gap is large. We ranked 796 U.S. occupations by median pay (BLS, May 2025) and split their 153.7 million workers into five equal-sized groups. Jobs in the lowest-paid fifth, where median pay tops out at $36,840, score 17.9 on AI exposure. Jobs in the best-paid fifth, from $83,820 up, score 46.0. That's about 2.6 times as much.

AI exposure by pay level of U.S. jobsAverage AI exposure score of U.S. jobs, grouped into five equal-sized fifths of workers by occupation median pay (BLS May 2025). Lowest-paid fifth 17.9; second 27.5; middle 29.2; fourth 42.2; best-paid fifth 46.0.Higher-paid jobs are more exposed to AI0102030405017.9Lowest-paid fifth$30,890–$36,84027.5Second fifth$36,910–$45,75029.2Middle fifth$45,760–$61,86042.2Fourth fifth$61,960–$83,68046.0Best-paid fifth$83,820+AI exposure score (0–100)Each bar is about 31 million workers, grouped by their occupation's median annual pay.Source: MajorMatch analysis of Eloundou et al. (2024) task ratings and BLS OEWS May 2025. majormatch.us/ai-exposure-by-major-2026/
Chart 1. Average AI exposure score by pay level. Each fifth holds roughly 30 million workers. Download chart (SVG)

The pattern isn't perfectly smooth. Exposure climbs from 18.5 in jobs paying $40,000 or less to 48.8 in the $100,000–$150,000 band, then dips to 44.8 above $150,000. The top band mixes managers and lawyers (managers alone are 55% of its jobs) with physicians, dentists and pilots, whose hands-on work scores much lower: 23.8 for general dentists, 29.0 for airline pilots and 40.6 for family medicine physicians. Those jobs pull the average down. Across all occupations, the rank correlation between pay and exposure is 0.47. That's a solid relationship but far from a rule. Some highly exposed jobs pay less than the national median of $50,980, such as data entry keyers (69.6, median $41,340) and correspondence clerks (84.8, median $46,800).

That's different from earlier waves of automation, which mostly hit routine factory and clerical work. Generative AI is best at writing, coding, analysis and summarizing, and those tasks fill the days of many well-paid office jobs.

Are college graduates more exposed to AI than other workers?

Yes. Using 5.85 million Census survey records for employed adults aged 25 to 64, we scored the jobs people actually hold by education level:

College graduates' jobs are 1.8 times as exposed as the jobs of workers with a high school diploma or less. Put another way, 30.9% of working college graduates are in high-exposure jobs (a score of 50 or more), compared with 18.3% of workers without a bachelor's degree. The gap holds on our second measure too (see below). That doesn't make a degree a bad bet. The median full-time worker with a degree in our sample earns $90,400. It does mean the people most likely to have AI change their daily work are the ones with diplomas.

Which college majors are most exposed to AI?

We scored each major by the jobs its graduates hold today, using Census data on 2.56 million workers aged 25 to 64. The ten most exposed:

  1. Computer Science: exposure 54.7, 66% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $125,900. Most common jobs: Software Developers; Other Managers; Computer and Information Systems Managers.
  2. Computer Engineering: exposure 54.6, 67% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $136,400. Most common jobs: Software Developers; Other Managers; Computer and Information Systems Managers.
  3. Computer and Information Systems: exposure 52.3, 62% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $103,600. Most common jobs: Software Developers; Computer Occupations, All Other; Computer and Information Systems Managers.
  4. Computer Programming and Data Processing: exposure 52.2, 59% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $95,000. Most common jobs: Software Developers; Computer Programmers; Other Managers.
  5. Information Sciences: exposure 52.2, 60% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $111,700. Most common jobs: Software Developers; Other Managers; Computer and Information Systems Managers.
  6. Management Information Systems and Statistics: exposure 51.1, 55% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $114,900. Most common jobs: Software Developers; Computer and Information Systems Managers; Other Managers.
  7. Computer Administration Management and Security: exposure 51.1, 62% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $99,500. Most common jobs: Information Security Analysts; Software Developers; Computer Occupations, All Other.
  8. Applied Mathematics: exposure 51.0, 53% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $123,300. Most common jobs: Software Developers; Other Mathematical Science Occupations; Postsecondary Teachers.
  9. Actuarial Science: exposure 50.9, 67% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $116,800. Most common jobs: Actuaries; Other Mathematical Science Occupations; Management Analysts.
  10. Statistics and Decision Science: exposure 50.3, 53% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $119,300. Most common jobs: Other Mathematical Science Occupations; Software Developers; Other Managers.

Computing dominates. Software developers are the most common job for graduates of the top five majors (the job scores 65.8), and related jobs score higher still: 74.6 for software QA testers and 81.7 for computer programmers. These are also some of the best-paid majors in the study. Computer engineering grads earn a median $136,400. Exposure here means AI tools can draft, test and debug a lot of code. It doesn't mean the jobs are gone.

Which college majors are least exposed to AI?

  1. Medical Assisting Services: exposure 26.6, 11% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $78,700. Most common jobs: Dental Hygienists; Physician Assistants; Medical Assistants.
  2. Cosmetology Services and Culinary Arts: exposure 31.5, 16% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $60,900. Most common jobs: Chefs and Head Cooks; Cooks; Food Service Managers.
  3. Treatment Therapy Professions: exposure 33.6, 10% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $85,500. Most common jobs: Physical Therapists; Occupational Therapists; Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations.
  4. Medical Technologies Technicians: exposure 34.6, 18% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $85,500. Most common jobs: Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians; Radiologic Technologists and Technicians; Other Life Scientists.
  5. Special Needs Education: exposure 35.1, 9% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $68,200. Most common jobs: Special Education Teachers; Elementary and Middle School Teachers; Secondary School Teachers.
  6. Early Childhood Education: exposure 35.5, 12% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $58,900. Most common jobs: Elementary and Middle School Teachers; Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers; Education and Childcare Administrators.
  7. Counseling Psychology: exposure 35.6, 13% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $66,000. Most common jobs: Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors; Counselors, All Other; Mental Health Counselors.
  8. Physical and Health Education Teaching: exposure 35.8, 14% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $72,600. Most common jobs: Elementary and Middle School Teachers; Secondary School Teachers; Education and Childcare Administrators.
  9. Elementary Education: exposure 35.8, 11% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $64,800. Most common jobs: Elementary and Middle School Teachers; Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers; Education and Childcare Administrators.
  10. Teacher Education: Multiple Levels: exposure 35.8, 11% of grads in high-exposure jobs, median earnings $63,000. Most common jobs: Elementary and Middle School Teachers; Secondary School Teachers; Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers.

Two groups make up the bottom of the list. Hands-on health majors (medical assisting, physical and occupational therapy, medical technology, nursing) are one. Teaching majors are the other. On our main measure, only about 31% of an elementary school teacher's tasks are exposed, because so much of the job is live, in-person work with kids. The cross-check measure disagrees about teaching, as we explain below, so treat education's low score with more caution than health's.

Which majors pay well with low AI exposure?

Higher-earning majors tend to be more exposed. The rank correlation across all 151 majors is 0.65. The best-paid quarter of majors (median $105,000–$140,500) averages 46.0, against 39.2 for the lowest-paid quarter. But 18 majors pay at least as much as the median major ($86,800) while scoring below the median exposure (42.5). The best-paid of them:

AI exposure vs. median earnings for 151 college majorsScatter plot of 151 bachelor's fields. Higher-earning majors tend to have higher AI exposure (rank correlation 0.65). Computer science and computer engineering are highest on exposure; nursing, pharmacy and pre-med pay well with below-median exposure.AI exposure vs. pay, 151 college majors$60K$80K$100K$120K$140K25303540455055Computer Science: exposure 54.7, $125,900Computer Engineering: exposure 54.6, $136,400Computer and Information Systems: exposure 52.3, $103,600Information Sciences: exposure 52.2, $111,700Computer Programming and Data Processing: exposure 52.2, $95,000Computer Administration Management and Security: exposure 51.1, $99,500Management Information Systems and Statistics: exposure 51.1, $114,900Applied Mathematics: exposure 51.0, $123,300Actuarial Science: exposure 50.9, $116,800Statistics and Decision Science: exposure 50.3, $119,300Electrical Engineering: exposure 49.3, $140,500Electrical Engineering Technology: exposure 48.6, $118,500Journalism: exposure 48.0, $85,900Aerospace Engineering: exposure 47.9, $132,400Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology: exposure 47.7, $95,000Accounting: exposure 47.7, $100,700Computer Networking and Telecommunications: exposure 47.7, $95,500Physics: exposure 47.7, $122,200Finance: exposure 47.5, $113,400Human Resources and Personnel Management: exposure 47.3, $83,800Materials Science: exposure 47.2, $122,200Advertising and Public Relations: exposure 47.1, $84,000Business Economics: exposure 47.0, $115,400Mechanical Engineering: exposure 46.8, $122,200Mathematics: exposure 46.7, $105,000Marketing and Marketing Research: exposure 46.5, $91,400Economics: exposure 46.3, $122,200International Business: exposure 46.3, $94,300Engineering Mechanics Physics and Science: exposure 46.1, $122,900Operations Logistics and E-Commerce: exposure 46.1, $96,400Composition and Rhetoric: exposure 46.1, $72,400International Relations: exposure 46.0, $106,300Engineering Technologies: exposure 45.9, $95,500Cognitive Science and Biopsychology: exposure 45.8, $104,900Environmental Engineering: exposure 45.8, $98,700Geology and Earth Science: exposure 45.8, $90,400Chemical Engineering: exposure 45.7, $131,200Communications: exposure 45.5, $83,500Miscellaneous Fine Arts: exposure 45.5, $69,700Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering: exposure 45.4, $117,800Geography: exposure 45.4, $89,400Biomedical Engineering: exposure 45.4, $112,700Business Management and Administration: exposure 45.3, $89,400Mass Media: exposure 45.3, $75,800Engineering and Industrial Management: exposure 45.3, $112,200Materials Engineering and Materials Science: exposure 45.3, $119,800Industrial and Organizational Psychology: exposure 45.3, $94,400Public Policy: exposure 45.2, $104,900Political Science and Government: exposure 45.0, $107,400Petroleum Engineering: exposure 44.9, $121,800General Engineering: exposure 44.9, $111,700General Business: exposure 44.8, $95,000Architectural Engineering: exposure 44.8, $111,700Civil Engineering: exposure 44.8, $113,900Pre-Law and Legal Studies: exposure 44.6, $85,500Miscellaneous Business and Medical Administration: exposure 44.6, $89,400Linguistics and Comparative Language and Literature: exposure 44.5, $83,800English Language and Literature: exposure 44.4, $83,500Intercultural and International Studies: exposure 44.2, $84,000Miscellaneous Engineering Technologies: exposure 44.1, $100,500Art History and Criticism: exposure 43.8, $83,500Miscellaneous Engineering: exposure 43.8, $110,000Miscellaneous Social Sciences: exposure 43.7, $94,500Health and Medical Administrative Services: exposure 43.6, $73,500Area Ethnic and Civilization Studies: exposure 43.4, $89,400Public Administration: exposure 43.4, $88,300Communication Technologies: exposure 43.3, $73,300Architecture: exposure 43.1, $95,500Anthropology and Archeology: exposure 43.0, $79,300Other Foreign Languages: exposure 42.9, $81,200Genetics: exposure 42.8, $108,600Commercial Art and Graphic Design: exposure 42.8, $74,700Environmental Science: exposure 42.7, $78,800History: exposure 42.7, $89,400Agricultural Economics: exposure 42.5, $101,500French German Latin and Other Common Foreign Language Studies: exposure 42.5, $84,000Biological Engineering: exposure 42.5, $99,000Miscellaneous Biology: exposure 42.4, $89,400Film Video and Photographic Arts: exposure 42.4, $73,300Food Science: exposure 42.2, $91,700Philosophy and Religious Studies: exposure 42.0, $86,800Chemistry: exposure 42.0, $111,700Hospitality Management: exposure 41.8, $73,300Humanities: exposure 41.8, $77,200Sociology: exposure 41.8, $78,200Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies: exposure 41.7, $98,500Industrial Production Technologies: exposure 41.7, $104,900Community and Public Health: exposure 41.6, $73,500Nutrition Sciences: exposure 41.5, $77,200Ecology: exposure 41.4, $76,100Molecular Biology: exposure 41.3, $110,700Neuroscience: exposure 41.2, $89,400Drama and Theater Arts: exposure 41.1, $69,700Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration: exposure 41.1, $134,000Biochemical Sciences: exposure 41.0, $111,700Liberal Arts: exposure 40.8, $77,600Communication Disorders Sciences and Services: exposure 40.8, $81,200Miscellaneous Psychology: exposure 40.7, $80,200Natural Resources Management: exposure 40.7, $78,700General Social Sciences: exposure 40.6, $78,700Psychology: exposure 40.6, $77,100Fine Arts: exposure 40.6, $72,100Microbiology: exposure 40.5, $104,900Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies: exposure 40.5, $67,000Criminology: exposure 40.3, $77,100Interdisciplinary Social Sciences: exposure 40.2, $73,300Construction Services: exposure 40.1, $104,900Music: exposure 40.0, $73,300Agriculture Production and Management: exposure 40.0, $83,500Miscellaneous Education: exposure 39.9, $76,100Educational Psychology: exposure 39.9, $74,000Educational Administration and Supervision: exposure 39.8, $83,100Family and Consumer Sciences: exposure 39.8, $67,000Human Services and Community Organization: exposure 39.7, $62,000Multi-Disciplinary or General Science: exposure 39.7, $86,300Studio Arts: exposure 39.6, $66,000Forestry: exposure 39.5, $83,100Clinical Psychology: exposure 39.4, $79,400Biology: exposure 39.0, $99,700Criminal Justice and Fire Protection: exposure 38.7, $77,600Miscellaneous Health Medical Professions: exposure 38.7, $72,100Zoology: exposure 38.4, $107,400Visual and Performing Arts: exposure 38.3, $68,200Language and Drama Education: exposure 38.0, $69,300Plant Science and Agronomy: exposure 37.9, $78,200Social Science or History Teacher Education: exposure 37.8, $72,600Mathematics Teacher Education: exposure 37.7, $72,600Science and Computer Teacher Education: exposure 37.6, $74,900Physical Fitness Parks Recreation and Leisure: exposure 37.5, $73,500Secondary Teacher Education: exposure 37.5, $73,000General Medical and Health Services: exposure 37.5, $79,200Physiology: exposure 37.5, $95,300General Agriculture: exposure 37.3, $77,000Social Work: exposure 37.2, $67,000Health and Medical Preparatory Programs: exposure 37.0, $122,200Art and Music Education: exposure 36.9, $67,000Transportation Sciences and Technologies: exposure 36.5, $110,000General Education: exposure 36.3, $68,000Theology and Religious Vocations: exposure 36.2, $64,000Animal Sciences: exposure 36.1, $78,200Nursing: exposure 35.9, $93,400Teacher Education: Multiple Levels: exposure 35.8, $63,000Elementary Education: exposure 35.8, $64,800Physical and Health Education Teaching: exposure 35.8, $72,600Counseling Psychology: exposure 35.6, $66,000Early Childhood Education: exposure 35.5, $58,900Special Needs Education: exposure 35.1, $68,200Medical Technologies Technicians: exposure 34.6, $85,500Treatment Therapy Professions: exposure 33.6, $85,500Cosmetology Services and Culinary Arts: exposure 31.5, $60,900Medical Assisting Services: exposure 26.6, $78,700Computer ScienceComputer EngineeringElectrical EngineeringJournalismAccountingPharmacyPsychologyPre-med programsNursingElementary EducationCosmetology & culinaryMedical assistingMedian earnings, full-time workers 25–64 (2024 dollars)AI exposure score (0–100)Dashed lines = median major. Source: MajorMatch analysis of Census ACS 2020–2024 PUMS, Eloundou et al. (2024), BLS OEWS May 2025.
Chart 2. Each dot is one bachelor's field (hover for name). Gold dots are labeled. The lower-right area (high pay, lower exposure) is dominated by health and life-science majors, many of whom go on to become doctors and pharmacists. Download chart (SVG)

One honest caveat: many of these graduates earned more degrees. 76% of pre-med graduates and 66% of pharmacy graduates hold a graduate degree. Their scores reflect the licensed jobs those extra degrees lead to, such as pharmacists (41.4) and family medicine physicians (40.6). Nursing is different. Only 29% of nursing grads hold a graduate degree, and the bachelor's alone leads to Registered Nurses, the most common job in our nursing sample.

AI exposure and pay for all 151 majors

Majors use the Census Bureau's field-of-degree names. We include every field with at least 1,000 survey records (151 of 174). The ten most exposed are highlighted.

Click a column header to sort. Exposure score: 0–100. High-exposure job: score of 50 or more. Earnings: median for full-time, year-round workers aged 25–64 whose first bachelor's degree is in the field, including those with graduate degrees, in 2024 dollars. Last column: the major's rank (1 = most exposed) under the Felten-Raj-Seamans Language-Modeling AIOE, our cross-check measure.
RankMajorAI exposure (0–100)Grads in high-exposure jobsMedian earningsCross-check rank
1Computer Science54.766.3%$125,90093
2Computer Engineering54.667.3%$136,40077
3Computer and Information Systems52.362.4%$103,60099
4Information Sciences52.259.7%$111,70071
5Computer Programming and Data Processing52.258.7%$95,000115
6Computer Administration Management and Security51.162.2%$99,500111
7Management Information Systems and Statistics51.155.3%$114,90044
8Applied Mathematics51.053.1%$123,3006
9Actuarial Science50.966.7%$116,8001
10Statistics and Decision Science50.352.7%$119,30016
11Electrical Engineering49.358.1%$140,50090
12Electrical Engineering Technology48.655.0%$118,500121
13Journalism48.044.2%$85,90030
14Aerospace Engineering47.953.9%$132,40075
15Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology47.749.2%$95,00048
16Accounting47.753.6%$100,7009
17Computer Networking and Telecommunications47.748.3%$95,500104
18Physics47.741.6%$122,20043
19Finance47.540.8%$113,40010
20Human Resources and Personnel Management47.343.5%$83,8004
21Materials Science47.241.7%$122,20045
22Advertising and Public Relations47.143.2%$84,00026
23Business Economics47.039.5%$115,40017
24Mechanical Engineering46.851.3%$122,20094
25Mathematics46.739.2%$105,00015
26Marketing and Marketing Research46.542.5%$91,40039
27Economics46.336.4%$122,20018
28International Business46.339.3%$94,30035
29Engineering Mechanics Physics and Science46.145.0%$122,900102
30Operations Logistics and E-Commerce46.139.3%$96,40052
31Composition and Rhetoric46.138.9%$72,40054
32International Relations46.033.1%$106,3007
33Engineering Technologies45.945.7%$95,500124
34Cognitive Science and Biopsychology45.834.3%$104,90042
35Environmental Engineering45.840.0%$98,70065
36Geology and Earth Science45.840.0%$90,40086
37Chemical Engineering45.735.5%$131,20047
38Communications45.538.5%$83,50041
39Miscellaneous Fine Arts45.537.9%$69,700118
40Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering45.439.4%$117,80083
41Geography45.439.6%$89,400105
42Biomedical Engineering45.438.2%$112,70066
43Business Management and Administration45.337.8%$89,40051
44Mass Media45.337.0%$75,80092
45Engineering and Industrial Management45.337.4%$112,20091
46Materials Engineering and Materials Science45.337.6%$119,80064
47Industrial and Organizational Psychology45.335.2%$94,40025
48Public Policy45.229.4%$104,90012
49Political Science and Government45.027.9%$107,4008
50Petroleum Engineering44.945.7%$121,80098
51General Engineering44.941.1%$111,700109
52General Business44.836.4%$95,00070
53Architectural Engineering44.826.8%$111,70084
54Civil Engineering44.822.9%$113,90080
55Pre-Law and Legal Studies44.625.3%$85,50013
56Miscellaneous Business and Medical Administration44.634.8%$89,40079
57Linguistics and Comparative Language and Literature44.533.0%$83,80037
58English Language and Literature44.430.8%$83,50022
59Intercultural and International Studies44.230.9%$84,00033
60Miscellaneous Engineering Technologies44.137.4%$100,500125
61Art History and Criticism43.829.7%$83,50061
62Miscellaneous Engineering43.836.2%$110,000119
63Miscellaneous Social Sciences43.731.0%$94,50038
64Health and Medical Administrative Services43.635.1%$73,50049
65Area Ethnic and Civilization Studies43.428.6%$89,40029
66Public Administration43.432.0%$88,30081
67Communication Technologies43.330.7%$73,300138
68Architecture43.117.2%$95,500113
69Anthropology and Archeology43.030.9%$79,30063
70Other Foreign Languages42.929.8%$81,20062
71Genetics42.823.5%$108,60068
72Commercial Art and Graphic Design42.824.2%$74,700122
73Environmental Science42.730.2%$78,800106
74History42.726.2%$89,40040
75Agricultural Economics42.531.1%$101,500103
76French German Latin and Other Common Foreign Language Studies42.525.5%$84,00028
77Biological Engineering42.532.3%$99,000114
78Miscellaneous Biology42.426.7%$89,400107
79Film Video and Photographic Arts42.427.8%$73,300130
80Food Science42.232.2%$91,700110
81Philosophy and Religious Studies42.024.3%$86,80031
82Chemistry42.021.1%$111,70095
83Hospitality Management41.827.8%$73,300112
84Humanities41.827.6%$77,20072
85Sociology41.827.3%$78,20059
86Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies41.743.3%$98,500139
87Industrial Production Technologies41.732.7%$104,900137
88Community and Public Health41.629.4%$73,50078
89Nutrition Sciences41.537.6%$77,20076
90Ecology41.424.3%$76,100108
91Molecular Biology41.319.6%$110,70082
92Neuroscience41.221.9%$89,40087
93Drama and Theater Arts41.126.6%$69,700101
94Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration41.110.8%$134,000117
95Biochemical Sciences41.018.8%$111,70097
96Liberal Arts40.826.8%$77,60089
97Communication Disorders Sciences and Services40.810.8%$81,2003
98Miscellaneous Psychology40.721.8%$80,20069
99Natural Resources Management40.723.8%$78,700133
100General Social Sciences40.625.4%$78,70067
101Psychology40.622.8%$77,10055
102Fine Arts40.623.2%$72,100120
103Microbiology40.520.9%$104,90096
104Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies40.525.6%$67,00046
105Criminology40.324.3%$77,100127
106Interdisciplinary Social Sciences40.223.9%$73,30074
107Construction Services40.112.2%$104,900132
108Music40.021.8%$73,30088
109Agriculture Production and Management40.027.2%$83,500140
110Miscellaneous Education39.922.8%$76,10056
111Educational Psychology39.912.3%$74,00024
112Educational Administration and Supervision39.810.5%$83,1002
113Family and Consumer Sciences39.824.2%$67,00058
114Human Services and Community Organization39.723.4%$62,00060
115Multi-Disciplinary or General Science39.724.6%$86,300123
116Studio Arts39.621.4%$66,000131
117Forestry39.518.8%$83,100148
118Clinical Psychology39.416.3%$79,40050
119Biology39.018.1%$99,700116
120Criminal Justice and Fire Protection38.722.9%$77,600143
121Miscellaneous Health Medical Professions38.730.1%$72,10085
122Zoology38.418.2%$107,400128
123Visual and Performing Arts38.320.1%$68,200126
124Language and Drama Education38.014.8%$69,30011
125Plant Science and Agronomy37.923.9%$78,200149
126Social Science or History Teacher Education37.814.4%$72,60027
127Mathematics Teacher Education37.713.0%$72,6005
128Science and Computer Teacher Education37.613.4%$74,90021
129Physical Fitness Parks Recreation and Leisure37.521.4%$73,500135
130Secondary Teacher Education37.514.0%$73,00020
131General Medical and Health Services37.521.0%$79,200129
132Physiology37.515.8%$95,300134
133General Agriculture37.321.8%$77,000145
134Social Work37.214.8%$67,00057
135Health and Medical Preparatory Programs37.012.2%$122,200136
136Art and Music Education36.912.8%$67,00023
137Transportation Sciences and Technologies36.520.1%$110,000150
138General Education36.312.5%$68,00034
139Theology and Religious Vocations36.217.8%$64,00073
140Animal Sciences36.119.8%$78,200146
141Nursing35.95.5%$93,400144
142Teacher Education: Multiple Levels35.811.3%$63,00014
143Elementary Education35.811.3%$64,80019
144Physical and Health Education Teaching35.813.7%$72,600100
145Counseling Psychology35.612.7%$66,00032
146Early Childhood Education35.512.3%$58,90053
147Special Needs Education35.18.7%$68,20036
148Medical Technologies Technicians34.618.0%$85,500142
149Treatment Therapy Professions33.610.3%$85,500147
150Cosmetology Services and Culinary Arts31.516.5%$60,900151
151Medical Assisting Services26.610.6%$78,700141

Do the two main AI exposure measures agree?

Partly, and we think you should know where they don't. Our main score uses Eloundou et al.'s task ratings. To test it, we rebuilt every major's score with a widely cited alternative: Felten, Raj and Seamans' Language-Modeling AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE). That measure links AI to the abilities a job needs, not to its task list.

Our takeaway: the findings about pay level, education and the two extremes (math-and-money majors at the top, hands-on health majors at the bottom) are solid on both measures. Where a specific major ranks in the middle depends on which measure you trust. We lead with the task-based score because it rates each task for a specific speedup by modern language models, and it's the same measure behind the MajorMatch AI-exposure numbers elsewhere on this site. The CSV includes the cross-check rank for every major so you can compare.

What does an AI exposure score actually mean?

An exposure score of 50 means that, for a typical worker in that job, half the task weight could be done at least twice as fast at the same quality by a GPT-4-class model. A task the model can speed up on its own counts in full. A task that needs extra software built on top of the model counts as half. So a score of 50 can mean half the tasks fully exposed, or more of them partly exposed. It describes what AI could speed up. It doesn't say what employers will do. A highly exposed job might shrink, or it might stay the same size while each worker gets more done. Economists still don't know which way most jobs will go. Exposure is the right first question to ask, not the last.

For a student, the useful question is which tasks in your future job AI will take over, and which ones will still need you. Majors with high exposure and high pay (computing, finance, math) will likely reward people who use AI well. Majors with low exposure (health care, skilled hands-on work) are less likely to see daily work change quickly.

How we built this study

  1. Task exposure by occupation. We use the occupation-level file from Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock, “GPTs are GPTs” (Science, 2024; ratings collected in 2023 on O*NET tasks). The score is their β measure (share of tasks rated directly exposed, plus half of tasks exposed with extra tools). We average the GPT-4 and human-expert ratings, then average O*NET sub-occupations into 6-digit SOC 2018 codes.
  2. Pay and employment. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), national estimates for May 2025, 830 detailed occupations. 771 match a task score exactly. 29 that BLS publishes as aggregates get the average of the O*NET occupations inside them (for example, home health and personal care aides 31-1120 = 31-1121 + 31-1122). The rest are mostly “all other” catch-alls with no task data. Matched occupations cover 98.9% of U.S. employment. Five performer jobs with hourly-only BLS pay are left out of pay comparisons, which leaves 796 occupations and 153.7 million jobs. Pay fifths are formed by sorting occupations by median annual wage and cutting at every 20% of employment. Averages are weighted by employment.
  3. Majors to jobs. U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year Public Use Microdata Sample (released January 2026). We keep employed civilians aged 25–64 with a bachelor's degree or higher and group them by their first-listed bachelor's field (FOD1P). Each person's occupation (SOCP) gets a score: an exact SOC match where one exists, the BLS-employment-weighted average of the detailed occupations inside the Census code where the Census groups occupations (for example, code 1520XX, “other mathematical science occupations”), or the task score directly where BLS only publishes an aggregate. Ten Census “all other” codes (0.5% of graduates) have no score and are dropped. A major's score is the survey-weighted average across its graduates. “High-exposure job” means a score of 50+, “low” means under 20.
  4. Earnings. Survey-weighted median of total earnings (PERNP, adjusted to 2024 dollars with ADJINC) for full-time, year-round workers (35+ hours a week, 50+ weeks a year, positive earnings) aged 25–64 in each major, including graduate-degree holders. Rounded to the nearest $100. The CSV also has bachelor's-only earnings and exposure. Bachelor's-only and all-degree exposure scores rank majors almost identically (rank correlation 0.978).
  5. Coverage. 151 of 174 Census fields have at least 1,000 records. Together they hold 2,556,322 records representing 54.0 million workers.
  6. Cross-check. We repeated the major and education results with Felten, Raj & Seamans' Language-Modeling AIOE (2023), matched on SOC codes the same way.

What this data can't tell you

How to cite this study and download the data

Suggested citation (APA)

Howard, S. (2026, November 13). AI exposure vs. pay by college major: The 2026 MajorMatch data study. MajorMatch.us. https://majormatch.us/ai-exposure-by-major-2026/

Short credit for charts and articles

Source: MajorMatch.us, AI Exposure vs. Pay by College Major (2026), analysis of U.S. Census Bureau ACS, BLS OEWS and Eloundou et al. (2024) data. https://majormatch.us/ai-exposure-by-major-2026/

Data and charts are free to use under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). Please link to https://majormatch.us/ai-exposure-by-major-2026/. Journalists, counselors and researchers: for custom cuts (a single major, a state, early-career only), email hello@majormatch.us.

Frequently asked questions

Which college majors are most exposed to AI?

In our study of 151 majors, computer science (54.7 out of 100) and computer engineering (54.6) are the most exposed, followed by other computing fields, applied math, actuarial science and statistics. The score is based on the jobs graduates actually hold. About two-thirds of computer science graduates work in high-exposure jobs, meaning a score of 50 or more out of 100 (tasks that need extra software on top of the AI model count as half).

Which college majors are least exposed to AI?

Medical assisting services (26.6), cosmetology and culinary arts, therapy professions such as physical and occupational therapy, medical technology, and the education majors score lowest. Nursing (35.9) is close behind. Hands-on health majors are in the least-exposed quarter on both AI measures we tested.

Does high AI exposure mean a job will be replaced?

No. Exposure measures how much of a job's task list AI could do or speed up at least twice as fast. It doesn't measure whether employers will cut those jobs. Many highly exposed jobs pay well above the national median of {d(O['national_median_wage'])}: software developers earn a median {d(O['named']['15-1252']['wage'])} and accountants {d(O['named']['13-2011']['wage'])}. AI often speeds up part of the work without removing the role.

Do higher-paying jobs have more AI exposure?

Yes, on average. The best-paid fifth of U.S. jobs (median pay $83,820 and up) scores 46.0 on AI exposure, against 17.9 for the lowest-paid fifth (up to $36,840). Exposure peaks in the $100,000–$150,000 pay band (48.8) and dips a little above $150,000 (44.8), because hands-on jobs like physicians, dentists and pilots score low.

Is computer science still a good major with AI?

Computer science is both the most AI-exposed major in our study and one of the best-paid ($125,900 median full-time earnings). The two AI measures we tested disagree sharply about it: the task-based measure we use ranks it #1, while the Felten-Raj-Seamans ability-based measure ranks it #93 of 151. Expect the work to change. The data doesn't show that the degree has stopped paying.

Is nursing safe from AI?

Nursing is one of the least AI-exposed majors on both measures we tested (#141 of 151 on our main score, #144 on the cross-check). Only 5.5% of nursing graduates work in high-exposure jobs, and the median full-time nursing graduate earns $93,400. No job is fully safe from change, but most nursing work is hands-on patient care.

How is the AI exposure score calculated?

For each occupation we use Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock's task ratings (published in Science, 2024). The score is the share of the job's tasks that a GPT-4-class model could do at least twice as fast at the same quality, with tasks that need extra software counted as half. GPT-4 and human expert ratings are averaged. For each major, we average the scores of the jobs its graduates hold, weighted by Census survey weights (ACS 2020–2024).

Can I use this data in my article or class?

Yes. All three CSV files are free under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Please credit “MajorMatch.us, AI Exposure vs. Pay by College Major (2026)” and link to this page. For custom cuts of the data, email hello@majormatch.us.

Related MajorMatch research

Sources