California college grads looking to make the most money after school should study math or science-related majors, according to a new study — while majoring in humanities and social science should expect to earn far less.

A Friday report by education research firm HEA Group examined federal earnings data for 276,963 graduates from 386 California institutions across more than 200 fields of study.

It concluded that students in the math and science fields, such as engineering or computer science, ended up with yearly incomes that reached up to $140,000.

Those with nursing degree were also top-tier earners, the report found, with those grads seeing annual incomes of around $125,000. The health-care field has been one of the few industries hiring consistently amid a rough labor market that’s seeing relatively little hiring and firing.

Students majoring in business administration and urban studies earned about $70,000 a year, the study showed.

The lowest earners, with salaries between $40,000 and $60,000 a year, have degrees in the humanities, arts and social sciences.

They include grads who study theater, music and dance, as well as fine and studio arts.

The study showed that having a degree still matters, even as more people question whether a college education is worth the cost in today’s economy.

The typical high school graduate’s salary in California is $36,082. Those with associate degrees from community colleges earned roughly $24,000 more, while bachelor’s degree holders earned $35,000 more.

Despite the study, one shouldn’t flock to science degrees simply to expect more money, said Michael Itzkowitz, president of the HEA Group.

“The outcomes in this report aren’t meant to rank one major against another. A degree in social work and a degree in computer science exist for different reasons, and both carry societal value beyond pure economics,” the HEA Group said.

The landscape of employment can also suddenly change.

Recent US college grads earned 50% more than their contemporaries who only held high school diplomas in 2025, according to numbers from the Federal Reserve — much lower than the 69% premium on university degrees in 2015.

Just 33% of students said college is worth the price, while 29% said it isn’t, according to a recent survey.

A looming part of that sentiment could be the prospect of artificial intelligence drastically changing how jobs are done, or even eliminating them.

The shift toward AI, for example, has led major tech employers to go on job-cutting sprees in recent years.