Is a Literature degree worth it?
Across 8 schools, graduates of Literature earn a median $51,146 five years out on $26,105 of debt — most often working as Editors. Every figure is a real, published federal number.
Median 5-yr pay
$51,146
Median debt
$26,105
Years to pay off
5.3
at 10% of pay
AI task exposure
67%
GPT-4-era overlap
10-yr job growth
+1.1%
BLS 2024–2034
Gender pay gap
21%
$63,295 vs $50,022
Net price
$24,456/yr
Debt-test failures
14.3%
of programs
'Real' premium
−$21,292
vs avg, adjusted
See where this degree leads, who's hiring, and whether the pay covers the rent.
Explore Literature in full →Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, O*NET, AI-exposure measures (Eloundou/AIOE), Zillow. Earnings reflect federally-aided graduates; see the full story for methodology and limitations.