Marketing education connects a large undergraduate field with specialized graduate programs and a broad labor market. The available figures show the scale of marketing degree production, the size of marketing master’s programs, and the employment and wage context for business and marketing-related careers. Dates and geographies vary by source, so each statistic is identified by its measurement period.
Contents
- Marketing education at a glance
- Marketing degree production
- Graduate marketing enrollment
- Marketing education in the wider business field
- Employment and earnings after business education
- Marketing occupations and projected demand
Marketing education at a glance
Several measures help define the field. In 2021–22, institutions reported 39,030 bachelor’s degrees, 2,145 master’s degrees, and 17 doctorates in marketing/marketing management, general. That broad program category was the largest marketing-related degree category in the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) figures.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported 13,736,300 employed workers with a business degree in 2023. Their median annual wage was $75,000. Business-degree holders were not limited to marketing jobs: 25% worked in management occupations, 23% in business and financial operations, 12% in sales and related occupations, and 12% in marketing and marketing research, according to [BLS Field of degree: Business].
Marketing education also feeds a specialized occupational market. BLS reported 846,370 market research analysts and marketing specialists employed in May 2023, with a mean annual wage of $83,190 and a mean hourly wage of $40.00, according to [BLS OEWS May 2023].
Marketing degree production
NCES degree counts show that general marketing education is much larger at the bachelor’s level than at the graduate or doctoral levels. In 2021–22, marketing/marketing management, general produced 39,030 bachelor’s degrees, 2,145 master’s degrees, and 17 doctorates. The same year, marketing research produced 16 bachelor’s degrees, 193 master’s degrees, and no doctorates. International marketing produced 166 bachelor’s degrees, 235 master’s degrees, and one doctorate. Digital marketing produced 90 bachelor’s degrees, two master’s degrees, and no doctorates. Marketing, other produced 742 bachelor’s degrees, 307 master’s degrees, and no doctorates. These figures are from [NCES Digest 2021–22].
The historical NCES counts provide context for the general marketing category. Marketing/marketing management, general produced 39,891 bachelor’s degrees, 2,206 master’s degrees, and 26 doctorates in 2020–21, according to [NCES Digest 2020–21]. In 2019–20, the same category produced 39,855 bachelor’s degrees, 2,009 master’s degrees, and 14 doctorates, according to [NCES Digest 2019–20]. In 2018–19, it produced 39,229 bachelor’s degrees, 1,914 master’s degrees, and 21 doctorates, according to [NCES Digest 2018–19].
Other 2018–19 categories illustrate how differently marketing specializations are distributed. Marketing research produced 33 bachelor’s degrees, 129 master’s degrees, and one doctorate. International marketing produced 202 bachelor’s degrees, 304 master’s degrees, and three doctorates. Sales, distribution, and marketing operations, general produced 1,620 bachelor’s degrees, 572 master’s degrees, and two doctorates. All three sets of figures come from [NCES Digest 2018–19].
| Program category and period | Bachelor’s | Master’s | Doctorates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing/marketing management, general, 2021–22 | 39,030 | 2,145 | 17 |
| Marketing research, 2021–22 | 16 | 193 | 0 |
| International marketing, 2021–22 | 166 | 235 | 1 |
| Digital marketing, 2021–22 | 90 | 2 | 0 |
| Marketing, other, 2021–22 | 742 | 307 | 0 |
The distribution matters for interpreting marketing education statistics. A large general bachelor’s category can coexist with smaller specialist pathways. Marketing research and international marketing recorded more master’s than bachelor’s degrees in the 2021–22 counts, while digital marketing recorded 90 bachelor’s degrees and two master’s degrees. These are reported degree counts, not estimates of the total number of people working in each specialty.
Graduate marketing enrollment
AACSB’s 2025 Business School Data Guide reported MS in Marketing enrollment at 65 institutions. Total enrollment was 4,033 students, with a mean of 80.7 students per institution and a median of 57.5. The standard deviation was 76.3 students. These figures describe the institutions included in that guide and should not be treated as a census of every marketing master’s program.
Earlier AACSB guides provide comparison points. The 2021 Business School Data Guide reported MS in Marketing enrollment at 37 institutions, with total enrollment of 2,189 students, a mean of 59, and a median of 37. The same 2021 guide listed MS in Management Science at six institutions, showing a smaller reported program footprint than MS in Marketing in that guide. These are historical figures from [AACSB 2021 Business School Data Guide].
The 2020 Business School Data Guide reported MS in Marketing enrollment at 34 institutions. Total enrollment was 2,166 students, with a mean of 64 and a median of 46. The guide also reported 1,514 students in MS in Taxation, a specialized business master’s benchmark that was lower than the reported MS in Marketing total. These historical measures are from [AACSB 2020 Business School Data Guide].
| AACSB guide | Institutions reporting MS in Marketing | Total enrollment | Mean | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 65 | 4,033 | 80.7 | 57.5 |
| 2021 | 37 | 2,189 | 59 | 37 |
| 2020 | 34 | 2,166 | 64 | 46 |
The variation between mean and median is notable in the 2025 guide: the mean was 80.7 while the median was 57.5. The standard deviation of 76.3 also indicates substantial variation in institution-level enrollment within the reported group. Because the institution counts and guide years differ, these figures should be read as snapshots of reported program participation rather than a continuous time series.
Marketing education in the wider business field
The BLS 2023 business-degree profile places marketing education inside a much larger educational and occupational group. Marketing and marketing research accounted for 12% of business majors. By occupation, management accounted for 25% of workers with a business degree, business and financial operations for 23%, sales and related occupations for 12%, office and administrative support for 9%, and computer and mathematical occupations for 6%.
Selected detailed occupations represented smaller shares. Accountants and auditors represented 8% of business-degree workers, managers, all other represented 6%, financial managers represented 4%, and management analysts represented 2%. These categories describe occupations held by people with business degrees, not only people whose degrees were specifically in marketing. The source is [BLS Field of degree: Business].
The same BLS profile reported that 12% of business-degree holders were employed part time in 2023. Fifty-five percent were in occupations requiring at least a bachelor’s degree, and 26% had an advanced degree. Together, these measures show both the breadth of business education and the range of post-degree outcomes; they do not establish that any one marketing program caused a particular employment or wage result.
Employment and earnings after business education
AACSB’s 2025 job market article reported MBA employment of 85% three months after graduation for 2024–25, compared with 87.5% three months after graduation for 2023–24. The same article reported an average MBA salary of $68,014 for 2024–25. These are MBA measures, so they provide business-education context rather than a marketing-specific salary benchmark. The source is [AACSB 2025 job market article].
The article also reported that specialized master’s graduates had an employment or offer rate above 70% within three months of graduation and an 85% employment or offer rate after six months. The wording combines employment and offers, and the time windows differ; the two percentages should therefore not be treated as directly equivalent employment rates.
BLS reported a $75,000 median annual wage for business-degree holders in 2023. This median applies to the business-degree population covered by the BLS field-of-degree profile, not specifically to marketing graduates. For the more targeted occupation group of market research analysts and marketing specialists, BLS reported a $76,950 median pay in 2024 in its occupational outlook material. BLS also stated that market research analysts typically need a bachelor’s degree for entry. These measures come from [BLS OOH: Market Research Analysts] and [BLS OOH poster].
Marketing occupations and projected demand
BLS projected 7% employment growth for market research analysts from 2024 to 2034. The projection is an estimate for that occupation and period, not a prediction of marketing degree enrollment. It indicates a labor-market outlook for research-focused marketing work alongside the current employment and pay measures.
The May 2023 BLS OEWS figures provide a national occupational snapshot. Market research analysts and marketing specialists accounted for 5.574 jobs per 1,000 jobs and numbered 846,370 employed workers. Their mean annual wage was $83,190 and their mean hourly wage was $40.00. These mean figures differ from the $76,950 median pay reported for 2024, because they use different measures and periods.
The District of Columbia data show how local results can differ from national figures. In May 2023, the occupation group employed 6,320 workers in the District of Columbia. Its mean annual wage there was $92,190, and its location quotient was 8.999. The location quotient is reported by [BLS OEWS DC, May 2023] alongside the employment and wage figures; it is a geography-specific concentration measure and should not be read as a wage or employment percentage.
Taken together, the education and labor statistics describe several distinct pathways. General marketing programs produced tens of thousands of bachelor’s degrees in the recent NCES counts, while specialist categories were smaller and often more concentrated at the master’s level. AACSB enrollment snapshots show that MS in Marketing programs varied widely in size across reporting institutions. BLS measures then connect business education to management, financial operations, sales, research, and analytical work, with the occupation-specific outlook for market research analysts projected at 7% growth from 2024 to 2034.