PlainCollege

Program ranking · CIP 50.09 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Music

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Music (CIP 50.09) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

$65,533
Highest music earnings
100
Colleges ranked
$40,713
#100 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $40,713 median earnings for Music bachelor's (CIP 50.09) completers. Sonoma State University leads at $65,533.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$65,533
#1 - Sonoma State University
$40,713
#100 - the cutoff to make this list
25+
completers required per school
1,063
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

Top 15 music programs by median completer earnings

Music bachelor's (CIP 50.09) · higher is higher early-career pay

median earnings

What this shows Music medians mix teaching, performance, and industry roles - debt still matters when arts-market pay varies sharply by metro.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full top 100

# School Name StateMedian EarningsMedian DebtCompleters
1 Sonoma State University CA $65,533 - 33
2 University of Florida FL $61,446 - 46
3 Northeastern University MA $60,974 $25,500 40
4 The University of Texas at El Paso TX $60,172 $14,894 29
5 University of Redlands CA $59,275 $27,000 26
6 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley TX $59,218 $15,175 48
7 Vanderbilt University TN $59,217 $21,500 44
8 The University of Texas at Arlington TX $59,198 $22,714 67
9 Sam Houston State University TX $58,743 $25,630 48
10 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC $58,127 $18,007 40
11 University of California-San Diego CA $58,071 $19,500 26
12 Texas A&M University-Kingsville TX $57,117 $31,000 32
13 Texas Tech University TX $57,043 $27,000 59
14 University of Houston TX $56,667 $25,000 77
15 University of Connecticut CT $56,104 $24,148 35
16 Rutgers University-New Brunswick NJ $56,008 $25,492 44
17 University of North Texas TX $55,705 $23,425 227
18 Monmouth University NJ $55,526 $24,625 26
19 East Texas A&M University TX $55,438 $24,728 48
20 University of Nevada-Las Vegas NV $55,161 $30,500 38
21 Illinois State University IL $54,767 $20,500 33
22 Lebanon Valley College PA $54,235 $26,846 28
23 The University of Texas at San Antonio TX $53,878 $23,703 44
24 Northwestern University IL $53,875 $18,039 86
25 University of Massachusetts-Lowell MA $53,384 $27,000 47
26 New York University NY $52,841 $25,000 87
27 Stephen F Austin State University TX $52,341 $26,000 76
28 Texas State University TX $52,320 $23,250 92
29 Furman University SC $52,225 $20,500 28
30 Michigan State University MI $52,132 $26,750 56
31 James Madison University VA $51,882 $20,968 79
32 Ithaca College NY $51,338 $27,000 47
33 Ohio State University-Main Campus OH $51,310 $25,500 38
34 Central Washington University WA $51,008 $26,000 46
35 Luther College IA $50,947 $27,000 37
36 Florida International University FL $50,677 $12,722 39
37 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign IL $50,544 $24,148 56
38 Montclair State University NJ $50,418 $27,000 59
39 Wayne State University MI $50,340 $22,452 47
40 University of Iowa IA $50,180 $27,000 49
41 Indiana State University IN $49,711 $26,250 27
42 University of Utah UT $49,240 $15,500 45
43 Eastern Illinois University IL $49,236 $26,000 26
44 San Francisco Conservatory of Music CA $49,186 $27,000 46
45 University of Delaware DE $49,145 $25,334 30
46 Indiana University of Pennsylvania PA $48,630 $27,000 36
47 University of Denver CO $48,461 $23,559 31
48 West Virginia University WV $48,226 $23,975 48
49 California State University-Long Beach CA $47,831 $21,050 86
50 University of California-Los Angeles CA $47,779 $20,000 75
51 University of Maryland-College Park MD $47,654 $21,614 42
52 Jacksonville State University AL $47,582 $28,000 45
53 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College LA $47,521 $19,455 31
54 Rowan University NJ $47,208 $25,898 63
55 The University of Texas at Austin TX $47,164 $24,625 60
56 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire WI $47,079 $25,557 50
57 George Mason University VA $46,765 $21,917 42
58 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville TN $46,701 $23,331 40
59 University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus CO $46,532 $23,499 98
60 University of Arkansas AR $46,352 $26,256 28
61 Duquesne University PA $46,217 $27,000 26
62 Rollins College FL $45,910 $27,000 32
63 SUNY at Fredonia NY $45,794 $25,584 38
64 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus OK $45,781 $22,779 37
65 University of Memphis TN $45,321 $20,545 46
66 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater WI $45,306 $25,000 36
67 University of South Carolina-Columbia SC $45,181 $27,000 53
68 California State Polytechnic University-Pomona CA $44,910 $17,750 36
69 DePaul University IL $44,756 $22,379 39
70 Ohio University-Main Campus OH $44,593 $26,750 42
71 Florida State University FL $44,454 $23,000 107
72 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus PA $44,241 $26,438 31
73 CUNY City College NY $44,058 $21,637 44
74 Western Carolina University NC $44,014 $26,000 50
75 Middle Tennessee State University TN $43,999 $20,083 136
76 Northern Arizona University AZ $43,792 - 27
77 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI $43,777 $18,997 83
78 Rider University NJ $43,753 $27,000 45
79 University of Hartford CT $43,700 $27,000 58
80 Lawrence University WI $43,385 $18,988 57
81 Oberlin College OH $43,343 $25,500 140
82 Capital University OH $43,125 $27,000 28
83 Liberty University VA $42,960 $27,000 93
84 California State University-Sacramento CA $42,774 $19,241 49
85 University of Nebraska at Omaha NE $42,768 - 28
86 University of Missouri-Kansas City MO $42,708 $18,740 32
87 St Olaf College MN $42,439 $23,500 47
88 University of Central Oklahoma OK $42,355 $19,000 40
89 University of Maryland-Baltimore County MD $42,289 $26,250 25
90 California State University-Chico CA $42,269 $23,500 61
91 San Diego State University CA $42,090 $15,383 55
92 SUNY at Purchase College NY $41,926 $20,379 53
93 Chapman University CA $41,698 $27,000 35
94 Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ $41,610 $21,504 42
95 Stetson University FL $41,298 $26,000 43
96 University of Arizona AZ $40,922 $14,650 34
97 University of North Carolina at Greensboro NC $40,778 $26,250 39
98 Morehead State University KY $40,768 $25,000 31
99 Columbia College Chicago IL $40,734 $25,625 46
100 Millersville University of Pennsylvania PA $40,713 $26,500 44

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Music (CIP 50.09) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Music (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. This list covers Music (CIP 50.09) bachelor's programs - music performance and education pathways can sit in adjacent CIP codes ranked separately when demand warrants.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.