Your State’s Favorite College Major

favorite majors by state

With college application deadlines fast approaching, possible academic majors are top of mind for many prospective students. Not to mention the many more students already enrolled but still figuring out where to focus.

The economic uncertainty of the past year and beyond has had many thinking ahead to potential earnings after graduation, essentially trying to predict which major will give them the biggest bang for their buck, so to speak. This approach makes sense, though some would argue, start-of-career income shouldn’t be the primary outcome of a university degree. Especially if you look out 10-15 years, the choice of major for an undergraduate degree has far less correlation with overall income and financial stability.

We did a deep dive across every state in the country and discovered the top picks that seem to be the most popular. Check out our analysis below and see if you happen to line up with your state’s top pick! While some of the results follow what you might expect – others will surprise you. Read on for more.

Interesting Findings

  • English is the overall favorite college major for the entire country, taking the top spot in 13 states.
  • Communications came in dead last, with only one state (Delaware) claiming it as their top pick. 
  • Two states tied for their favorite college major: 
    • North Carolina tied between Business and Political Science 
    • New Hampshire loves both Psychology and Engineering 
  • Future biologists are likely coming from California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania – who all name Biology as their favorite major. 
  • Business is the nation’s 2nd favorite, taking the top spot in 10 states. 

Methodology

We looked at the 10 most popular majors across the nation and analyzed their Google Trends search volume over the last 12 months to determine each state’s favorite. Google Trends can be a surprisingly accurate determiner of population data, as you’ll see below.

RegionFavorite Major
AlabamaPsychology
AlaskaEconomics
ArizonaEngineering
ArkansasEnglish
CaliforniaBiology
ColoradoBusiness
ConnecticutPsychology
DelawareCommunications
FloridaPolitical Science
GeorgiaPolitical Science
HawaiiBusiness
IdahoBusiness
IllinoisPolitical Science
IndianaBusiness
IowaEngineering
KansasEnglish
KentuckyBusiness
LouisianaBiology
MaineEnglish
MarylandPolitical Science
MassachusettsBiology
MichiganBusiness
MinnesotaEnglish
MississippiBusiness
MissouriEnglish
MontanaBusiness
NebraskaBiology
NevadaEnglish
New HampshirePsychology / Engineering
New JerseyPolitical Science
New MexicoEnglish
New YorkPolitical Science
North CarolinaBusiness/Political Science
North DakotaBiology
OhioPolitical Science
OklahomaEnglish
OregonEnglish
PennsylvaniaBiology
Rhode IslandEnglish
South CarolinaEngineering
South DakotaEnglish
TennesseeEnglish
TexasEnglish
UtahComputer Science
VermontBusiness
VirginiaEngineering
WashingtonPsychology
West VirginiaEngineering
WisconsinPolitical Science
WyomingEconomics