What are the typical starting salaries for master's graduates in the USA, and how do they vary by field and location?
US master's graduates typically start between $80,000 and $115,000, varying sharply by field. Computer and information sciences average $111,306, engineering $102,925, and business $92,829, per NACE's Class of 2025 data. Salaries run highest in tech hubs like San Jose, San Francisco, and Seattle, though living costs are high too.
Your starting salary after a US master's depends heavily on your field and where you work, but a reasonable overall benchmark is $80,000 to $115,000 in base pay. Technical fields like computer science and engineering sit at the top of this range, while business and healthcare fields trend lower.
Average Starting Salary by Field (Class of 2025)
| Master's Field | Average Starting Salary |
|---|---|
| Computer and Information Sciences | $111,306 |
| Engineering | $102,925 |
| Engineering Technologies | $94,882 |
| Business | $92,829 |
| Health-related Fields | $83,093 |
How Location Changes the Number
The same job can pay very differently depending on the city. Experienced-level median wages for software developers, for instance, run around $213,000 in San Jose, $187,000 in San Francisco, and $167,000 in Seattle and New York, compared to a national median closer to $148,100. These are experienced-worker figures rather than fresh-graduate pay, but they show how much geography moves the ceiling. A higher salary in an expensive metro also needs to be weighed against rent, taxes, and cost of living before you compare it with a lower offer elsewhere.
My Advice
Don't chase the highest headline salary alone. Compare your likely offer after tax and living costs in each city, and factor in whether the employer sponsors OPT and the STEM OPT extension, since that affects how long you can actually work on your student visa before needing H-1B sponsorship.
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