General Foreign Languages & Literatures

Add Comparison
    Total Degrees​
    Awarded in 2024
    2,396
    declining 4.73%
    Median In-State​
    Public Tuition
    $7,800
    growing 1.09%
    Median Out-of-State​
    Private Tuition
    $50,380
    growing 6.86%
    Average Wage
    $92,603
    growing 3.56%
    People in Workforce
    529,395
    growing 1.39%
    Average Employee Age
    44.1
    growing 0.241%

    About

    N/A N/A The most common degree awarded to students studying General Foreign Languages & Literatures is a bachelors degree.

    Language & LinguisticsLinguistic, Comparative, & Related Language Studies

    Institutions

    Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in General Foreign Languages & Literatures and the types of students that study this field. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University awards the most degrees in General Foreign Languages & Literatures in the US, but New College of Florida and Virginia Military Institute have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in General Foreign Languages & Literatures.

    Tuition costs for General Foreign Languages & Literatures majors are, on average, $7,800 for in-state public colleges, and $50,380 for out of state private colleges.

    The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers General Foreign Languages & Literatures programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (176 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (2,049 completions).

    Institutions

    Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in General Foreign Languages & Literatures (2024)
    1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
      68 degrees awarded
    2. North Carolina State University at Raleigh
      64 degrees awarded
    3. University of South Florida
      58 degrees awarded

    The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in General Foreign Languages & Literatures, is Public, 4-year or above (2,049 completions in 2024).

    The following chart shows the share of universities that offer General Foreign Languages & Literatures programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

    $7,800
    Median In-State Public
    $50,380
    Median Out of State Private

    Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has the most General Foreign Languages & Literatures degree recipients, with 68 degrees awarded in 2024.

    The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in General Foreign Languages & Literatures.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Specialized Colleges

    Highest Concentration Institution
    1. New College of Florida
      5.44%
    2. Virginia Military Institute
      3.97%
    3. University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras
      2.29%

    Out of all institutions that offer General Foreign Languages & Literatures programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, New College of Florida has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in General Foreign Languages & Literatures, with 5.44%.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Degrees Awarded by County

    Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in General Foreign Languages & Literatures
    1. Montgomery County, VA
      68 degrees awarded
    2. Wake County, NC
      64 degrees awarded
    3. Los Angeles County, CA
      61 degrees awarded

    This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in General Foreign Languages & Literatures by year.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Employment

    Information on the businesses and industries that employ Language & Linguistics graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

    The average salary for Language & Linguistics majors is $92,603 and the most common occupations are Elementary & middle school teachers, Postsecondary teachers, and Secondary school teachers.

    The industry that employs the most Language & Linguistics majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Support activities for mining.

    Yearly Income for Common Jobs

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.
    $92,603
    Average Wage in Workforce
    ± $3,376
    3.56%
    1 Year Growth
    ± 5.01%

    The average salary for Language & Linguistics majors is $92,603 and the most common occupations are Elementary & middle school teachers, Postsecondary teachers, and Secondary school teachers.

    This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Language & Linguistics majors.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Highest Paying Locations

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.
    Highest Paying Pumas
    1. Hidalgo County (North Central)--Edinburg City PUMA, TX
      $304,700
    2. Collin County (Southwest)--Plano City (West) PUMA, TX
      $290,976
    3. Sedgwick (Northeast) & Butler (North & East) Counties--Wichita City (Northeast) PUMA, KS
      $281,206

    This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Language & Linguistics majors.

    Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Language & Linguistics majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Most Common

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.

    The most common occupations for Language & Linguistics majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & middle school teachers, Postsecondary teachers, and Secondary school teachers.

    View Data
    Save Image
    View Data
    Save Image

    Most Specialized

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.

    Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Language & Linguistics majors working as Miscellaneous media & communication workers, Librarians, and Postsecondary teachers.

    View Data
    Save Image
    View Data
    Save Image

    Highest Paid

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.

    The highest paid occupations by median income for Language & Linguistics majors are Petroleum, mining & geological engineers, including mining safety engineers, Surgeons, and Molders, shapers, & casters, except metal & plastic.

    View Data
    Save Image
    View Data
    Save Image

    Occupations by Share

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.
    529,395
    2024 Workforce
    ± 17,833
    1.39%
    1 Year Growth
    ± 4.71%

    The number of Language & Linguistics graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 1.39%, from 522,137 in 2023 to 529,395 in 2024.

    The largest single share of Language & Linguistics graduates go on to work as Elementary & middle school teachers (6.69%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Language & Linguistics by share of the total number of graduates.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Most Common

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.

    The most common industries that employ Language & Linguistics majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals.

    View Data
    Save Image
    View Data
    Save Image

    Highest Paid

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.

    The highest paying industries of Language & Linguistics majors, by average wage, are Support activities for mining, Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals, and Computer & peripheral equipment manufacturing.

    View Data
    Save Image
    View Data
    Save Image

    Industries by Share

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.
    529,395
    2024 Workforce
    ± 17,833
    1.39%
    1 Year Growth
    ± 4.71%

    The number of Language & Linguistics graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 1.39%, from 522,137 in 2023 to 529,395 in 2024.

    The industry which employs the most Language & Linguistics graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Language & Linguistics.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Specialty Locations

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.
    PUMAS with a relatively high number of Language & Linguistics majors
    1. District of Columbia (West) PUMA, DC
      6.86
    2. Alameda County (North)--Berkeley & Albany Cities PUMA, CA
      5.71
    3. District of Columbia (Northeast) PUMA, DC
      5.65

    This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Language & Linguistics majors.

    Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Language & Linguistics majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Diversity

    Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Language & Linguistics in the United States.

    The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Language & Linguistics is 44.1.

    The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Language & Linguistics degrees.

    Workforce Age

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.
    44.1
    Average Age in 2024
    ± 0.444 Years
    0.241%
    1 Year Change
    ± 1.43%

    This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Language & Linguistics. The most common ages of employees with this major are 35 and 33 years old, which represent 3.22% and 3.14% of the population, respectively.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Degrees Awarded

    The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in General Foreign Languages & Literatures are Bachelors Degree, Associates Degree, and Masters Degree.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Workforce Degrees

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.

    The most common degree types held by the working population in Language & Linguistics are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

    Female (70.2%)
    Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

    This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in General Foreign Languages & Literatures.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Race & Ethnicity by Sex

    Degrees
    Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination
    1. White Female
      669 degrees awarded
    2. White Male
      346 degrees awarded
    3. Hispanic or Latino Female
      344 degrees awarded

    This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in General Foreign Languages & Literatures.

    White Female students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

    View Data
    Save Image

    Global Diversity

    The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course General Foreign Languages & Literatures is from the 2 Digit Course Language & Linguistics.
    Most Common Countries of Origin
    1. Mexico
      10,062 degree recipients
    2. China
      8,394 degree recipients
    3. Korea
      6,992 degree recipients
    High Relative Number of Students
    1. Belgium
      8.5 times more than expected
    2. Spain
      6.71 times more than expected
    3. Algeria
      6.5 times more than expected

    There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Belgium that hold Language & Linguistics degrees (8.5 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is Mexico (10,062 degree recipients).

    View Data
    Save Image

    Skills

    Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the General Foreign Languages & Literatures field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. General Foreign Languages & Literatures majors need many skills, but most especially Learning Strategies. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that General Foreign Languages & Literatures majors need more than the average amount of N/A.

    These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for General Foreign Languages & Literatures majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of N/A is very distinctive for majors, but the Learning Strategies, Speaking, and Instructing are the three most important skills for people in the field.

    Radar Distribution

    View Data
    Save Image

    Bar Chart

    View Data
    Save Image