Entry-Level Salaries Price History
1990–2025 · NACE / BLS
Average starting salary for new college graduates entering the workforce from 1990 to 2025. This is the number that matters most to anyone finishing their degree and wondering whether it was all worth it. Entry-level pay has roughly doubled in nominal terms over the past 35 years, which sounds decent until you realize that college tuition has roughly tripled over the same period. The result is that new grads today earn more on paper but often start their careers deeper in debt than any previous generation.
Price in 1990
$23,600.00
Price in 2025
$61,500.00
Total Change
+160.6%
Years Tracked
35
Entry-Level Salaries Over Time
Compare to inflation: The chart above shows nominal (not inflation-adjusted) prices. Use the toggle to switch to inflation-adjusted values when available, or try the inflation calculator to convert any amount between years.
Key Insights
- Starting salaries have grown from $23,600 in 1990 to $61,500 in 2025, but once you account for inflation, real purchasing power has only increased by about 15% — not the 160% that the raw numbers might suggest.
- The 2001-2003 period was rough for new grads, with average starting salaries actually declining for three consecutive years following the dot-com bust and post-9/11 economic slump.
- The post-pandemic job market has been unusually kind to new graduates, with starting salaries jumping nearly 19% between 2020 and 2025 as employers competed fiercely for entry-level talent.
- When you stack these starting salaries against average student loan debt, the picture gets grim — in 1990, a new grad could pay off their loans in about a year of gross salary, versus nearly two years today.
Year-by-Year Data
| Year | Price (USD per year) | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | $23,600.00 | — |
| 1991 | $24,000.00 | +1.7% |
| 1992 | $24,300.00 | +1.3% |
| 1993 | $24,700.00 | +1.6% |
| 1994 | $25,200.00 | +2.0% |
| 1995 | $26,000.00 | +3.2% |
| 1996 | $27,000.00 | +3.8% |
| 1997 | $28,200.00 | +4.4% |
| 1998 | $29,600.00 | +5.0% |
| 1999 | $31,200.00 | +5.4% |
| 2000 | $33,200.00 | +6.4% |
| 2001 | $33,500.00 | +0.9% |
| 2002 | $33,100.00 | -1.2% |
| 2003 | $32,800.00 | -0.9% |
| 2004 | $33,600.00 | +2.4% |
| 2005 | $35,000.00 | +4.2% |
| 2006 | $36,500.00 | +4.3% |
| 2007 | $38,100.00 | +4.4% |
| 2008 | $39,200.00 | +2.9% |
| 2009 | $37,800.00 | -3.6% |
| 2010 | $38,000.00 | +0.5% |
| 2011 | $39,200.00 | +3.2% |
| 2012 | $40,600.00 | +3.6% |
| 2013 | $41,800.00 | +3.0% |
| 2014 | $42,900.00 | +2.6% |
| 2015 | $44,000.00 | +2.6% |
| 2016 | $45,400.00 | +3.2% |
| 2017 | $46,800.00 | +3.1% |
| 2018 | $48,400.00 | +3.4% |
| 2019 | $50,200.00 | +3.7% |
| 2020 | $51,800.00 | +3.2% |
| 2021 | $53,800.00 | +3.9% |
| 2022 | $55,900.00 | +3.9% |
| 2023 | $58,900.00 | +5.4% |
| 2024 | $60,200.00 | +2.2% |
| 2025 | $61,500.00 | +2.2% |
Sources & Methodology
Average starting salary offers for bachelor's degree graduates, as surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and supplemented with BLS data for recent years. Figures represent the mean annual salary across all majors and industries for graduates entering full-time employment. Unpaid positions, internships, and part-time work are excluded. Data is in nominal dollars and reflects offers made during the spring recruiting season of each year.
Primary source: NACE / BLS
For a full explanation of how we collect and adjust data, see our methodology page.