Law & Public
What you can do with Public Policy
How laws and programs get made and whether they work. Leads to government, think tanks and advocacy.
- Careers
- 3
- Early career
- $55,000
- Mid-career
- $80,000
- Growing fast
- 0 of 3
How these numbers work: A major does not have its own salary. Early and mid-career pay is what people who hold this degree earn at the start of their careers and midway through them. Career pay comes from the 3 careers a Public Policy degree commonly leads to, and counts everyone in those jobs, including people who have been doing them for thirty years. The two answer different questions, which is why they do not match.
The New York Fed does not report Public Policy on its own. Its early and mid-career figures here are for Public Policy and Law, the broader group it places this major in.
47% of people with this degree go on to a graduate degree, so the higher-paying careers below usually mean more school after the bachelor's.
0 of 3 careers this degree leads to are projected to grow faster than average from 2024 to 2034.
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3 careers this degree leads to
Political Scientist
$142,080Analyze political systems, public opinion, and policy, informing governments, think tanks, and campaigns.
- Middle half of workers
- $114,030 to $174,180
- Growth
- Declining
- Openings a year
- 500
Work-life59Remote58- Policy Analysis
- Research Methods
- Statistics
- Writing
Economist
$124,720Research how markets, policy, and incentives actually behave, and turn that analysis into forecasts and recommendations.
- Middle half of workers
- $89,330 to $174,720
- Growth
- Slower than average
- Openings a year
- 900
Work-life56Remote58- Econometrics
- Data Analysis
- Mathematics
- Critical Thinking
Urban Planner
$89,320Develop plans and programs for the use of land, design communities, and accommodate population growth in urban areas.
- Middle half of workers
- $72,020 to $110,030
- Growth
- About average
- Openings a year
- 3,400
Work-life72Remote52Satisfaction75- Land Use Planning
- GIS
- Zoning Regulations
- Community Engagement
Related majors
Set on Public Policy?
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Where these pay figures come from
Early and mid-career pay is the median annual wage of full-time workers who hold a bachelor's degree in that major, ages 22 to 27 and ages 35 to 45, from 2024 data. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (IPUMS). Published as Outcomes by Major by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Career pay is the annual wage of everyone working in that occupation, not only recent graduates, so it includes people who have done the job for decades. The middle half is the 25th to the 75th percentile. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET OnLine (median and percentile annual wages May 2025; employment projections 2024-2034).
All figures are national. What you earn depends on where you work, who you work for, and how far you take the degree.