Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 505.30. Percentage distribution of employed 25- to 34-year-olds with a bachelor's degree in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field, by STEM or non-STEM occupation, sex, race/ethnicity, and U.S. nativity and citizenship status: 2021
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Sex, race/ethnicity, and U.S. nativity and citizenship status Total, all
occupation types
Science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) occupation Non-STEM occupation
STEM total Computer scientists and mathematicians Engineers Life and physical scientists Non-STEM total Medical professionals Healthcare support workers Agriculture and
forestry workers
Business workers/ managers Educators Legal professionals Human/
protective services workers
Military personnel Other
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
  Percentage distribution of employed 25- to 34-year-old STEM bachelor's degree holders with each listed characteristic, by occupation
Total1 100.0   (†) 45.3   (0.32) 21.2   (0.23) 17.4   (0.26) 6.8   (0.17) 54.7   (0.32) 11.8   (0.22) 1.2   (0.08) 0.2   (0.04) 17.8   (0.29) 7.5   (0.18) 0.8   (0.05) 1.8   (0.09) 0.6   (0.06) 13.0   (0.23)
Sex                                                                                          
Male 100.0   (†) 52.4   (0.41) 25.7   (0.32) 21.2   (0.35) 5.5   (0.23) 47.6   (0.41) 7.6   (0.24) 0.5   (0.07) 0.2   (0.06) 17.2   (0.29) 6.2   (0.21) 0.7   (0.06) 1.6   (0.11) 0.7   (0.08) 12.7   (0.29)
Female 100.0   (†) 31.9   (0.50) 12.6   (0.31) 10.2   (0.34) 9.1   (0.32) 68.1   (0.50) 19.8   (0.40) 2.4   (0.19) 0.1 ! (0.03) 18.9   (0.51) 10.1   (0.34) 1.1   (0.10) 2.0   (0.17) 0.3   (0.07) 13.5   (0.40)

Race/ethnicity
                                                                                         
American Indian/
     Alaska Native
100.0   (†) 28.6   (5.98) 14.4 ! (4.54) 8.4 ! (3.50)   (†) 71.4   (5.98) 18.8   (5.27)   (†)   (†) 11.1 ! (3.70) 9.7 ! (3.27)   (†)   (†)   (†) 26.7   (7.03)
Asian 100.0   (†) 57.7   (0.73) 35.8   (0.71) 14.3   (0.49) 7.6   (0.42) 42.3   (0.73) 10.5   (0.47) 1.0   (0.14)   (†) 14.1   (0.52) 7.6   (0.40) 0.6   (0.10) 0.6   (0.11) 0.2   (0.06) 7.7   (0.40)
Black 100.0   (†) 32.8   (1.44) 17.9   (1.18) 10.2   (1.05) 4.7   (0.66) 67.2   (1.44) 10.8   (1.11) 3.0   (0.53)   (†) 18.1   (1.01) 7.5   (0.79) 0.6 ! (0.20) 5.4   (0.73) 0.8 ! (0.28) 20.8   (1.25)
Hispanic 100.0   (†) 39.5   (1.03) 16.9   (0.88) 16.6   (0.83) 6.0   (0.43) 60.5   (1.03) 9.8   (0.59) 1.5   (0.25) 0.5   (0.13) 17.9   (0.81) 8.4   (0.55) 0.7   (0.17) 2.2   (0.30) 0.3 ! (0.11) 19.3   (0.92)
Pacific Islander 100.0   (†) 26.0 ! (10.89)   (†)   (†)   (†) 74.0   (10.89)   (†)   (†)   (†) 12.1 ! (4.21)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 52.1   (11.69)
White 100.0   (†) 43.8   (0.39) 17.3   (0.30) 19.6   (0.36) 6.9   (0.22) 56.2   (0.39) 12.8   (0.31) 0.9   (0.08) 0.2   (0.05) 19.1   (0.35) 7.3   (0.24) 1.0   (0.07) 1.7   (0.11) 0.8   (0.09) 12.5   (0.36)
Two or more races 100.0   (†) 44.6   (1.56) 20.0   (1.39) 18.1   (1.10) 6.6   (0.82) 55.4   (1.56) 12.9   (1.00) 1.2 ! (0.43)   (†) 17.7   (1.21) 7.9   (0.76) 0.5 ! (0.15) 1.4   (0.37) 0.6 ! (0.23) 13.2   (0.99)

Race/ethnicity by sex
                                                                                         
Male                                                                                          
American Indian/
      Alaska Native
100.0   (†) 32.9   (7.33) 19.0 ! (6.25) 12.5 ! (5.08)   (†) 67.1   (7.33) 13.8 ! (6.53)   (†)   (†) 10.4 ! (4.68) 8.0 ! (3.85)   (†)   (†)   (†) 27.3 ! (8.34)
Asian 100.0   (†) 62.8   (0.86) 39.2   (0.90) 17.0   (0.69) 6.6   (0.50) 37.2   (0.86) 7.6   (0.52) 0.5   (0.12)   (†) 12.6   (0.59) 7.1   (0.48) 0.5   (0.11) 0.6   (0.13) 0.3 ! (0.09) 8.0   (0.48)
Black 100.0   (†) 41.5   (2.01) 24.3   (1.71) 13.8   (1.59) 3.5   (0.89) 58.5   (2.01) 5.6   (0.82) 1.3 ! (0.59)   (†) 17.8   (1.37) 6.1   (0.91)   (†) 5.0   (0.95) 1.1 ! (0.40) 21.0   (1.61)
Hispanic 100.0   (†) 46.4   (1.29) 22.2   (1.23) 19.6   (1.08) 4.6   (0.49) 53.6   (1.29) 6.4   (0.56) 0.7   (0.18) 0.6 ! (0.20) 17.4   (0.91) 6.8   (0.69) 0.6   (0.16) 2.0   (0.35) 0.4 ! (0.15) 18.8   (0.97)
Pacific Islander 100.0   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
White 100.0   (†) 51.2   (0.51) 21.9   (0.41) 23.7   (0.45) 5.6   (0.28) 48.8   (0.51) 8.2   (0.30) 0.5   (0.08) 0.3 ! (0.08) 18.7   (0.38) 5.8   (0.27) 0.8   (0.09) 1.5   (0.12) 0.9   (0.11) 12.2   (0.41)
Two or more races 100.0   (†) 54.0   (1.82) 25.7   (1.88) 23.0   (1.51) 5.3   (0.85) 46.0   (1.82) 7.9   (1.11)   (†)   (†) 17.1   (1.40) 5.8   (0.84) 0.6 ! (0.23) 1.2 ! (0.44) 0.9 ! (0.36) 12.3   (1.51)
Female                                                                                          
American Indian/
      Alaska Native
100.0   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Asian 100.0   (†) 48.2   (1.29) 29.4   (1.05) 9.3   (0.61) 9.5   (0.76) 51.8   (1.29) 15.7   (0.82) 1.9   (0.38)   (†) 16.8   (0.85) 8.6   (0.66) 1.0   (0.23) 0.5 ! (0.17)   (†) 7.2   (0.56)
Black 100.0   (†) 20.7   (1.80) 9.1   (1.37) 5.4   (1.09) 6.3   (1.05) 79.3   (1.80) 18.1   (2.22) 5.4   (1.11)   (†) 18.5   (2.01) 9.5   (1.39) 0.7 ! (0.28) 6.0   (1.28)   (†) 20.4   (1.77)
Hispanic 100.0   (†) 26.4   (1.46) 6.9   (0.81) 10.9   (1.09) 8.6   (0.92) 73.6   (1.46) 16.3   (1.28) 3.1   (0.68)   (†) 18.8   (1.40) 11.3   (1.17) 1.0 ! (0.37) 2.6   (0.53)   (†) 20.1   (1.57)
Pacific Islander 100.0   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
White 100.0   (†) 28.8   (0.60) 8.0   (0.37) 11.2   (0.44) 9.7   (0.42) 71.2   (0.60) 22.1   (0.62) 1.9   (0.18) 0.1 ! (0.04) 19.9   (0.64) 10.4   (0.46) 1.2   (0.14) 2.0   (0.23) 0.5   (0.11) 13.2   (0.58)
Two or more races 100.0   (†) 29.0   (2.29) 10.4   (1.57) 9.9   (1.51) 8.6   (1.52) 71.0   (2.29) 21.3   (2.05) 2.9 ! (1.16)   (†) 18.8   (2.01) 11.5   (1.69)   (†) 1.6 ! (0.63)   (†) 14.8   (1.98)

Nativity
                                                                                         
Asian                                                                                          
U.S.-born2 100.0   (†) 44.8   (1.22) 25.0   (1.20) 12.8   (1.02) 7.1   (0.65) 55.2   (1.22) 20.4   (1.05) 2.0   (0.44)   (†) 15.0   (0.99) 5.4   (0.60) 0.9   (0.26) 1.0   (0.28) 0.2 ! (0.10) 10.2   (0.72)
Foreign-born 100.0   (†) 62.6   (0.77) 39.9   (0.82) 14.9   (0.61) 7.8   (0.53) 37.4   (0.77) 6.6   (0.48) 0.6   (0.13)   (†) 13.8   (0.61) 8.5   (0.48) 0.5   (0.11) 0.4   (0.11) 0.2 ! (0.08) 6.8   (0.44)
Hispanic                                                                                          
U.S.-born2 100.0   (†) 39.9   (1.21) 16.9   (1.08) 16.9   (0.97) 6.1   (0.56) 60.1   (1.21) 11.1   (0.74) 1.4   (0.27) 0.2 ! (0.11) 17.2   (1.01) 9.2   (0.69) 0.9   (0.23) 2.4   (0.39) 0.4 ! (0.15) 17.1   (0.97)
Foreign-born 100.0   (†) 38.4   (2.07) 16.7   (1.56) 15.9   (1.43) 5.7   (0.82) 61.6   (2.07) 6.5   (0.99) 1.8 ! (0.62) 1.0 ! (0.36) 19.5   (1.43) 6.0   (1.03)   (†) 1.4 ! (0.52)   (†) 25.0   (1.88)

Citizenship status
                                                                                         
U.S.-born citizen 100.0   (†) 42.4   (0.37) 17.8   (0.25) 18.1   (0.34) 6.5   (0.19) 57.6   (0.37) 13.1   (0.27) 1.2   (0.09) 0.2   (0.04) 18.4   (0.32) 7.3   (0.22) 0.9   (0.06) 2.1   (0.11) 0.7   (0.07) 13.7   (0.28)
Naturalized citizen 100.0   (†) 44.0   (1.24) 21.5   (1.04) 16.6   (1.00) 6.0   (0.71) 56.0   (1.24) 15.5   (0.94) 2.0   (0.32)   (†) 18.8   (0.99) 4.2   (0.42) 0.8   (0.20) 1.5   (0.30) 0.5 ! (0.16) 12.4   (0.83)
Noncitizen 100.0   (†) 59.3   (0.76) 36.4   (0.75) 14.3   (0.58) 8.5   (0.47) 40.7   (0.76) 4.3   (0.37) 0.5   (0.11) 0.2 ! (0.06) 14.6   (0.67) 10.2   (0.51) 0.4   (0.11) 0.5   (0.10)   (†) 9.9   (0.48)
  Percentage distribution of employed 25- to 34-year-old STEM bachelor's degree holders with each listed occupation, by citizenship status
Citizenship status 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†) 100.0   (†)
U.S.-born citizen 75.7   (0.25) 70.7   (0.41) 63.5   (0.64) 78.9   (0.71) 72.3   (1.24) 79.8   (0.36) 84.0   (0.81) 80.6   (2.42) 73.8   (8.64) 78.3   (0.69) 73.0   (1.17) 84.0   (2.55) 88.8   (1.59) 92.7   (2.10) 79.9   (0.70)
Naturalized citizen 7.5   (0.19) 7.3   (0.25) 7.6   (0.40) 7.1   (0.42) 6.6   (0.79) 7.7   (0.27) 9.8   (0.60) 12.7   (1.95)   (†) 7.9   (0.41) 4.2   (0.44) 7.5   (1.82) 6.4   (1.20) 6.0 ! (1.92) 7.1   (0.53)
Noncitizen 16.8   (0.24) 22.0   (0.41) 28.9   (0.63) 13.9   (0.58) 21.2   (1.10) 12.5   (0.28) 6.2   (0.50) 6.7   (1.50) 17.1 ! (5.56) 13.8   (0.63) 22.8   (1.11) 8.5   (2.23) 4.8   (0.93)   (†) 12.9   (0.63)
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1Total includes other racial/ethnic groups not shown separately.
2Includes those born in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Marianas, as well as those born abroad to U.S.-citizen parents.
NOTE: Data are based on sample surveys of the entire population residing within the United States, including both noninstitutionalized persons (e.g., those living in households, college housing, or military housing located within the United States) and institutionalized persons (e.g., those living in prisons, nursing facilities, or other healthcare facilities). This table includes only employed persons who have a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field of study. The first bachelor’s degree major reported by respondents was used to classify their field of study, even though they were able to report a second bachelor’s degree major and may possess advanced degrees in other fields. Aggregated occupation classifications were used to assemble the data, except that managers of STEM activities were counted as practitioners of STEM occupations instead of "Business workers/managers." Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2021. (This table was prepared February 2023.)

2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest