MAJORS · 6 OF 19 BY ROI

Is a english, liberal arts, and humanities degree worth it?

On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$144,506. But the spread is the real story.

MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED

+$144,506

across 2,021 bachelor’s programs · 179,107 graduates

MEDIAN GRADUATE

+$124K

MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN

−$18K ⟷ +$266K

NEVER BREAK EVEN

27.5%

MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE

37

ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES

+$51K

IF YOU DROP OUT

−$112K

The biggest fields inside English, Liberal Arts, and Humanities

  1. Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. 71,272 grads +$207K
  2. English Language and Literature, General. 56,747 grads +$65K
  3. History. 35,841 grads +$123K
  4. Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. 14,141 grads +$220K
  5. English Language and Literature/Letters, Other. 617 grads +$17K

Mean lifetime ROI per field, cohort-weighted. A category average hides this spread — and the per-school spread inside each field is wider still.

Questions

Is a english, liberal arts, and humanities degree worth it?
On average yes — across 2,021 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for English, Liberal Arts, and Humanities is +$144,506 and the median is +$124,276. 27.5% of graduates in this category never break even on the degree. The honest answer depends heavily on the specific program and school: the middle half of graduates land between −$18,026 and +$265,637.
How long until a english, liberal arts, and humanities degree pays off?
Among English, Liberal Arts, and Humanities programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 37 (FREOPP 2021). 27.5% of graduates in the category are in programs that never break even at all.
Does the school matter for a english, liberal arts, and humanities major?
Enormously. The middle 50% of English, Liberal Arts, and Humanities graduates span −$18,026 to +$265,637 — a +$284K spread within one major. The same field can be a strong trade at one school and a losing one at another, which is why the per-school number matters more than the category average.

↓ Download the data (CSV) · All 19 categories with full statistics. Free to cite with attribution. · Methodology

Cite this:

LE TEEN (2026). “English, Liberal Arts, and Humanities: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/english-liberal-arts-and-humanities