{"id":136,"date":"2026-05-10T18:04:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T18:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=136"},"modified":"2026-05-10T18:04:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T18:04:23","slug":"most-new-college-grads-expect-80k-starting-pay-are-they-overshooting-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=136","title":{"rendered":"Most new college grads expect $80K starting pay \u2014 are they overshooting?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There\u2019s little debate that college graduates tend to earn more than those without a degree. Data has long shown that workers with at least a bachelor\u2019s degree earn considerably more than even those with some college experience.<\/p>\n

Read more Long-time Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox dead at age 84<\/a><\/p>\n

But some graduates have unrealistic expectations about what they\u2019ll make when they leave school.<\/p>\n

A new report from Clever Real Estate found that new college graduates expect to earn about $24,000 more than is typical. Graduates surveyed said they expect to make roughly $80,000 at the start of their careers, when the average starting salary is $56,153.<\/p>\n

Nearly 10 years after graduation, respondents said they expect to earn more than $144,000 annually. In reality, the typical graduate earns just over $95,000 at that point, according to the report.<\/p>\n

RELATED STORY | <\/b>New report finds majority of US workers lack a ‘quality job’<\/b><\/p>\n

Students in almost every field surveyed overestimated their incomes. Communications and journalism majors came the closest, expecting to start at $64,000 \u2014 only about $4,000 above the actual average of $60,000.<\/p>\n

Future teachers had the largest gap between expectation and reality. They anticipated earning more than $75,000 right out of school, but starting salaries tend to be under $47,000.<\/p>\n

Read more Rising fuel costs, tariffs push up Mother\u2019s Day flower prices<\/a><\/p>\n

While many survey participants understood that most new grads don\u2019t earn $80,000, 59% said they have a stronger work ethic and 51% said they are smarter than their peers.<\/p>\n

Another factor: Many graduates say they are willing to work less if it means a better work-life balance.<\/p>\n

RELATED STORY | <\/b>Economic jitters keep workers in their jobs as openings decline<\/b><\/p>\n

The good news is that for most, the $80,000 figure isn\u2019t unrealistic long-term. As of 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median annual wage for bachelor\u2019s degree holders is more than $80,000. For workers with some college but no degree, the median falls to $53,000. College graduates also have a much lower unemployment rate than non-graduates.<\/p>\n

However, experts note that the economy has shifted in recent months. Job openings have dropped considerably in the past four years \u2014 from more than 12 million in 2022 to 6.9 million in 2024, according to the BLS.<\/p>\n

Read more CDC sidelines itself as hantavirus cruise ship outbreak grabs global attention<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New grads expect to start careers earning $80K \u2014 about $24K more than reality \u2014 and overshoot 10-year pay estimates, a survey finds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nMost new college grads expect $80K starting pay \u2014 are they overshooting? - Arizona Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=136\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Most new college grads expect $80K starting pay \u2014 are they overshooting? - Arizona Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New grads expect to start careers earning $80K \u2014 about $24K more than reality \u2014 and overshoot 10-year pay estimates, a survey finds.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=136\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arizona Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-10T18:04:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6fcab5d03bb271875efe32a33b3465a0-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=136#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=136\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb\"},\"headline\":\"Most new college grads expect $80K starting pay \u2014 are they overshooting?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-10T18:04:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=136\"},\"wordCount\":382,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=136#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/6fcab5d03bb271875efe32a33b3465a0-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"National Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=136#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=136\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=136\",\"name\":\"Most new college grads expect $80K starting pay \u2014 are they overshooting? - Arizona Moving Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=136#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=136#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/6fcab5d03bb271875efe32a33b3465a0-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-10T18:04:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9c272b4cf18e019eb01eb3c1b5d855fb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=136#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=136\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/?p=136#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/6fcab5d03bb271875efe32a33b3465a0-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arizonamovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/6fcab5d03bb271875efe32a33b3465a0-1.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":683,\"caption\":\"FILE - A Morehouse College student lines up before the school commencement, May 19, 2024, in Atlanta. 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