Math majors earn some of the highest salaries of any bachelor's degree holders, with median salaries ranging from $60,000 for entry-level positions to well over $120,000 for actuaries, data scientists, and financial analysts at mid-career. The degree itself does not determine your salary. The industry and role you choose does.
Somewhere between your second semester of abstract algebra and your third all-nighter proving theorems, a thought hits you: "Am I going to be able to pay rent with this?"
It is a fair question. Math does not have an obvious job title attached to it the way nursing or accounting does. Nobody graduates with a math degree and immediately walks into a role called "Mathematician" at a company that was eagerly awaiting their arrival. The path from math major to well-paying career requires you to translate your skills into a language that employers understand, and most math departments do a terrible job of teaching that translation.
But here is what the salary data actually shows: math majors consistently rank among the top earners for bachelor's degree holders across virtually every industry. The problem is not the earning potential. The problem is that most math students do not know where the money is until it is almost too late to position themselves for it.
Entry-Level Salary: What to Expect Year One
Fresh out of college, math majors have an unusually wide salary range depending on which industry they target. The floor is around $45,000 for entry-level teaching or data entry roles. The ceiling for a first job is above $80,000 for graduates who land actuarial analyst, quantitative analyst, or software engineering positions.
Mathematicians and statisticians earn a median annual wage of $104,8601, but that median includes experienced professionals. Entry-level positions in statistics and data analysis typically start between $55,000 and $70,000 at most employers.
Actuarial analysts, one of the most direct career paths for math majors, can start above $65,000 if they have passed one or two actuarial exams before graduation. The actuarial career track is one of the few fields where your starting salary is directly tied to exam progress rather than work experience.
Financial analysts earn a median of $99,8902, though entry-level positions at smaller firms start closer to $55,000 to $65,000. The investment banking and asset management firms that pay the highest starting salaries recruit almost exclusively from a short list of target schools.
If you want the highest possible starting salary with a math degree, start passing actuarial exams during college. Each exam you pass before graduation adds roughly $5,000 to $10,000 to your starting offer. Two exams passed by senior year puts you in a fundamentally different salary bracket than a graduate with zero exams and the same GPA.
The teaching path pays significantly less at entry level. High school math teachers earn a median of $65,2203, with starting salaries in many states falling between $40,000 and $50,000. If teaching is your calling, the salary should not be the deciding factor, but you should plan your finances around these numbers rather than hoping for better.
For students still deciding on their major, understanding how math degree careers compare to options in economics or finance can help clarify which path matches both your interests and your income goals.
Mid-Career Salary: Where the Money Actually Goes
The mid-career salary picture for math majors is where the degree truly shines. Mathematical and quantitative skills become more valuable with experience, not less, because senior roles in finance, technology, and data science require the kind of rigorous analytical thinking that math training provides.
Actuaries earn a median of $120,0004 at mid-career, with top earners in chief actuary and consulting roles exceeding $200,000. The progression from analyst to associate to fellow in the actuarial profession is one of the most predictable salary escalators in any field.
Operations research analysts, who use mathematical models to help organizations solve complex problems, earn a median of $83,6405. Senior operations research professionals at consulting firms and large corporations regularly exceed $120,000.
Data scientists with strong mathematical foundations earn a median that the BLS groups under computer and information research scientists at $145,0806. While not every data scientist has a math degree, those who do tend to advance faster into senior roles because they can build models from first principles rather than relying on pre-built tools.
Operations research analyst positions are projected to grow 23 percent from 2023 to 2033, much faster than the average for all occupations5. This growth is driven by organizations increasingly relying on data-driven decision-making, and math majors are the natural talent pipeline for these roles.
Financial managers earn a median of $156,1007, and many of them started as financial analysts with quantitative backgrounds. The path from math major to financial manager typically takes eight to twelve years but offers one of the highest ceilings available to bachelor's degree holders.
Salary by Industry
The same math skills pay very differently depending on which industry signs your paycheck.
Finance and insurance is the highest-paying industry for math graduates overall. Actuaries, financial analysts, quantitative traders, and risk managers all draw on mathematical training, and the compensation reflects the direct revenue impact of quantitative work. Insurance companies, investment banks, and hedge funds compete aggressively for strong math talent.
Technology pays math majors extremely well, particularly in data science, machine learning engineering, and algorithm development. Total compensation packages at major tech companies often include stock grants and bonuses that push total pay well above base salary figures. A mid-level data scientist at a large tech company can earn $150,000 to $200,000 in total compensation.
Government and defense offer lower base salaries than finance or tech but provide job security, pension benefits, and work-life balance that the private sector often lacks. The National Security Agency, Department of Defense, and national laboratories employ large numbers of mathematicians and statisticians. Federal salaries for these roles typically fall on the GS-11 to GS-15 scale.
Education is the lowest-paying major industry for math graduates. High school math teachers earn a median of $65,2203, and college math instructors outside of tenure-track positions earn less. Tenure-track mathematics professors at research universities earn competitive salaries, but those positions require a PhD and are extremely limited in number.
Consulting sits between finance and government in pay but offers variety and rapid skill development. Management consulting firms hire math majors for their analytical abilities, and the progression from analyst to engagement manager to partner can be financially rewarding. The math-to-consulting pipeline is less well-known than the business-to-consulting pipeline, but it exists and pays the same.
Salary by Location
Geographic variation matters for math careers, though the effect is more industry-dependent than it is for most degrees.
Major financial centers like New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco pay the highest salaries for finance-track math graduates. Actuaries, quantitative analysts, and financial modelers in these cities earn 15 to 30 percent above the national median. The cost of living is also significantly higher, but the salary premium usually more than compensates, especially in the early career years when you can live frugally and bank the difference.
Technology hubs including the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Austin, and the Research Triangle in North Carolina pay top dollar for data scientists and machine learning engineers with mathematical backgrounds. Remote work has expanded geographic options in tech, but the highest-paying companies still offer compensation packages tied to high-cost-of-living metro areas.
Do not assume that a $130,000 salary in San Francisco is better than $95,000 in Minneapolis. After taxes, housing, and cost of living, the Minneapolis math professional may have more disposable income. Run the actual numbers for any city you are considering.
Government positions pay on standardized federal scales with locality adjustments. The Washington, D.C. metro area, where many federal agencies are headquartered, offers locality pay roughly 30 percent above the base GS scale. Other federal facilities with significant math hiring include the NSA in Maryland, Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico.
Teaching salaries vary dramatically by state. Math teachers in New York, California, Massachusetts, and Connecticut earn well above the national median, while teachers in southern and rural states may start below $40,000. The shortage of qualified math teachers means some districts offer signing bonuses and loan forgiveness, which can significantly improve the total compensation picture.
Highest-Paying Career Paths With This Degree
Actuarial science offers the most predictable high-earning path. Starting at $65,000+, actuaries progress through a structured exam system that directly ties salary increases to credential milestones. Fellows of the Society of Actuaries regularly earn $150,000 to $250,0004.
Quantitative finance is the highest-ceiling path but also the most competitive. Quantitative analysts at hedge funds and proprietary trading firms can earn $200,000 to $500,000+ including bonuses, but these positions almost always require graduate degrees and are concentrated at a handful of elite firms.
Data science and machine learning represent the broadest high-paying opportunity. Computer and information research scientists earn a median of $145,0806, and the demand for professionals who can build mathematical models continues to grow across virtually every industry.
Financial management offers a median of $156,1007 and is accessible to math graduates who build finance experience over eight to twelve years. This path does not require a graduate degree, though an MBA or CFA designation can accelerate the timeline.
Operations research starts at the $83,640 median5 and scales to $130,000+ for senior analysts and directors at large organizations. This is one of the most underappreciated career paths for math majors because few undergraduate programs mention it.
The highest-paying math careers are not the ones that use the most advanced mathematics. Actuarial science uses applied probability and statistics. Financial analysis relies on relatively straightforward quantitative methods. The premium is not for doing hard math. It is for being comfortable with mathematical thinking in high-stakes business environments where most people are not.
What Actually Moves the Needle on Your Salary
Professional certifications make a bigger difference in math-adjacent careers than almost any other factor. Passing actuarial exams, earning a CFA charter, or obtaining a professional data science certification signals competence to employers in ways that your degree alone cannot.
Programming skills are now non-negotiable for high-paying math careers. Python, R, SQL, and increasingly machine learning frameworks like TensorFlow and PyTorch separate the math graduates who earn $60,000 from those who earn $120,000. If your math program did not require programming, you need to learn it independently before you graduate.
Industry experience through internships is the single best predictor of starting salary. Math majors who complete actuarial internships, finance summer analyst programs, or data science internships during college earn 20 to 40 percent more in their first post-graduation role than those who do not.
Graduate school provides a salary boost that varies wildly by field. A PhD in statistics or applied math opens doors to research scientist roles paying $145,000+6. An MBA or master's in finance can accelerate your timeline to financial management roles. A master's in pure mathematics, however, does not reliably increase earning power unless it leads to a PhD or a specific industry credential.
A master's degree in mathematics for the sake of "keeping options open" is one of the worst financial decisions a math graduate can make. If you do not have a specific career goal that requires a graduate degree, enter the workforce, earn money, build skills, and revisit graduate school in three to five years when you know exactly what you need it for.
Understanding how your math skills compare to related fields can help you position yourself. See how physics degree careers and economics degree careers overlap with math career paths to identify where your quantitative training gives you the strongest advantage.
FAQ
What is the average starting salary for a math major?
Starting salaries for math majors range from approximately $45,000 for teaching positions to $80,000+ for actuarial and quantitative analyst roles. The median starting salary across all industries falls between $55,000 and $65,000, which is above average for bachelor's degree holders. Your starting salary depends more on industry choice than GPA or school prestige.
Do math majors make more than engineering majors?
At entry level, engineering majors typically earn slightly more because their skills are immediately applicable to specific jobs. By mid-career, math majors in finance, data science, and actuarial science often match or exceed engineering salaries. The comparison depends entirely on which career path each person follows. Both degrees offer strong earning potential in different industries.
Is a math degree worth it financially compared to computer science?
Math and computer science degrees lead to many of the same high-paying careers in data science, finance, and technology. Computer science graduates have a slight edge in software engineering salaries at entry level, but math graduates often outperform in roles requiring deep analytical reasoning, such as quantitative research and actuarial science. For a detailed look at the tradeoffs, compare math degree careers with computer science career options.
What math jobs pay over $100,000?
Actuaries ($120,000+ median at mid-career)4, financial managers ($156,100 median)7, computer and information research scientists ($145,080 median)6, and operations research analysts at the senior level ($100,000+) all regularly exceed six figures. Mathematicians and statisticians have a median of $104,8601, meaning roughly half earn more than that.
Do you need a master's degree to make good money with a math degree?
No. Many of the highest-paying math careers, including actuarial science, financial analysis, and data analytics, are accessible with a bachelor's degree plus professional certifications or relevant experience. Graduate school provides a salary boost in some research-heavy paths but is not required for a well-paying career in math.
How much do math teachers make compared to other math careers?
High school math teachers earn a median of $65,2203, which is significantly below the median for mathematicians and statisticians ($104,860)1 or financial analysts ($99,890)2. Teaching offers non-monetary benefits including summers off, pension plans, and job stability that partially offset the salary gap, but the income difference is substantial over a full career.
Footnotes
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Mathematicians and Statisticians. BLS. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/mathematicians-and-statisticians.htm ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Financial Analysts. BLS. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/financial-analysts.htm ↩ ↩2
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Occupational Outlook Handbook: High School Teachers. BLS. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/high-school-teachers.htm ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Actuaries. BLS. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/actuaries.htm ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Operations Research Analysts. BLS. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/operations-research-analysts.htm ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Computer and Information Research Scientists. BLS. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-and-information-research-scientists.htm ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Financial Managers. BLS. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/financial-managers.htm ↩ ↩2 ↩3