Best degree programs for Cost Estimators, ranked by enrollment
7 college programs and 2,555 schools train Cost Estimators. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $78,740 median wage, 224,220 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
7 college programs at 2,555 schools train cost estimators, graduating 464,503 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Business Administration and Management, General. The job pays a median of $78,740 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About cost estimators
Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. May specialize according to particular service performed or type of product manufactured.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
7 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0201 | 348,906 | 75.1% | 2,305 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 52.0101 | 60,975 | 13.1% | 806 | $44,700 | $24,000 |
| 3 | CIP 14.1901 | 43,624 | 9.4% | 440 | $70,724 | $24,833 |
| 4 | CIP 15.1001 | 5,391 | 1.2% | 146 | $72,178 | $22,750 |
| 5 | CIP 14.1801 | 3,215 | 0.7% | 112 | $74,110 | $23,250 |
| 6 | CIP 14.3301 | 1,588 | 0.3% | 50 | $75,998 | $25,314 |
| 7 | CIP 14.3601 | 804 | 0.2% | 71 | $72,154 | $21,457 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What cost estimators earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $85,460 | 26,020 | 0.99× | 226 | 65,388 |
| Texas | $76,980 | 20,760 | 1.02× | 145 | 35,407 |
| Arizona | $77,010 | 5,760 | 1.23× | 38 | 25,589 |
| Florida | $74,990 | 13,720 | 0.96× | 100 | 23,194 |
| New York | $80,430 | 11,980 | 0.86× | 147 | 18,938 |
| Indiana | $73,430 | 4,810 | 1.04× | 49 | 18,813 |
| North Carolina | $74,730 | 8,030 | 1.13× | 112 | 14,890 |
| Massachusetts | $100,840 | 4,520 | 0.86× | 65 | 14,249 |
| Virginia | $80,530 | 5,840 | 0.99× | 66 | 13,548 |
| Colorado | $86,940 | 6,100 | 1.47× | 34 | 13,350 |
| Pennsylvania | $78,480 | 9,420 | 1.08× | 128 | 13,217 |
| New Hampshire | $79,560 | 980 | 0.99× | 19 | 12,840 |
| Illinois | $82,750 | 5,990 | 0.68× | 90 | 11,864 |
| Georgia | $76,800 | 6,010 | 0.85× | 84 | 11,761 |
| Utah | $79,610 | 2,800 | 1.12× | 11 | 11,406 |
| Ohio | $77,730 | 8,100 | 1.01× | 102 | 10,952 |
| Michigan | $77,990 | 6,960 | 1.10× | 72 | 9,846 |
| New Jersey | $80,570 | 5,240 | 0.85× | 51 | 8,643 |
| Maryland | $81,190 | 4,580 | 1.15× | 42 | 8,628 |
| Kentucky | $74,880 | 1,960 | 0.68× | 47 | 8,627 |
| Alabama | $74,990 | 3,000 | 0.98× | 46 | 8,070 |
| Missouri | $76,020 | 6,580 | 1.55× | 59 | 7,424 |
| Louisiana | $77,030 | 2,680 | 0.96× | 35 | 6,808 |
| Minnesota | $80,810 | 4,310 | 1.01× | 59 | 6,682 |
| Idaho | $79,700 | 1,600 | 1.30× | 11 | 6,423 |
| South Carolina | $70,260 | 2,880 | 0.87× | 51 | 6,246 |
| Washington | $86,070 | 7,470 | 1.46× | 54 | 6,186 |
| West Virginia | $77,480 | 830 | 0.82× | 32 | 5,956 |
| Tennessee | $75,650 | 4,340 | 0.92× | 53 | 5,784 |
| Wisconsin | $76,270 | 5,150 | 1.21× | 52 | 5,397 |
| Connecticut | $81,030 | 2,350 | 0.96× | 20 | 4,514 |
| Oklahoma | $67,800 | 1,860 | 0.76× | 38 | 4,421 |
| Mississippi | $71,230 | 1,280 | 0.76× | 28 | 3,763 |
| Nebraska | $73,100 | 1,330 | 0.90× | 25 | 3,712 |
| Iowa | $76,040 | 1,870 | 0.83× | 43 | 3,538 |
| Oregon | $80,460 | 2,940 | 1.04× | 31 | 3,325 |
| District of Columbia | $82,730 | 270 | 0.27× | 11 | 3,292 |
| Arkansas | $61,470 | 1,400 | 0.75× | 44 | 3,180 |
| Kansas | $76,250 | 2,250 | 1.09× | 38 | 2,947 |
| New Mexico | $67,590 | 900 | 0.72× | 26 | 2,305 |
| Maine | $74,080 | 760 | 0.83× | 16 | 1,689 |
| Nevada | $82,200 | 2,240 | 1.00× | 9 | 1,663 |
| Rhode Island | $81,990 | 590 | 0.82× | 11 | 1,233 |
| South Dakota | $74,950 | 1,030 | 1.56× | 18 | 1,193 |
| Montana | $77,320 | 1,230 | 1.67× | 18 | 1,177 |
| Delaware | $79,290 | 730 | 1.05× | 6 | 1,129 |
| North Dakota | $73,280 | 730 | 1.18× | 16 | 1,117 |
| Hawaii | $80,360 | 1,040 | 1.15× | 9 | 879 |
| Vermont | $81,390 | 320 | 0.73× | 7 | 784 |
| Wyoming | $90,790 | 440 | 1.09× | 9 | 473 |
| Alaska | $97,020 | 220 | 0.46× | 7 | 425 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Analyze blueprints and other documentation to prepare time, cost, materials, and labor estimates.
- Confer with engineers, architects, owners, contractors, and subcontractors on changes and adjustments to cost estimates.
- Collect historical cost data to estimate costs for current or future products.
- Assess cost effectiveness of products, projects or services, tracking actual costs relative to bids as the project develops.
- Consult with clients, vendors, personnel in other departments, or construction foremen to discuss and formulate estimates and resolve issues.
- Establish and maintain tendering process, and conduct negotiations.
- Prepare estimates for use in selecting vendors or subcontractors.
- Prepare estimates used by management for purposes such as planning, organizing, and scheduling work.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Mathematics4.0
- Speaking3.9
- Active Listening3.8
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Writing3.5
- Active Learning3.3
- Monitoring3.0
Knowledge areas
- Mathematics4.4
- Economics and Accounting4.0
- Computers and Electronics3.5
- Engineering and Technology3.4
- Building and Construction3.3
- Administration and Management3.2
Abilities
- Inductive Reasoning4.1
- Oral Expression4.0
- Mathematical Reasoning4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Number Facility3.9
- Written Comprehension3.9
Core activities
- Getting Information4.6
- Working with Computers4.6
- Analyzing Data or Information4.6
- Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information4.5
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.3
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.3
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Cost Estimator
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 7 majors mapped to Cost Estimators7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 14.1801Materials Engineering
- 14.1901Mechanical Engineering
- 14.3301Construction Engineering
- 14.3601Manufacturing Engineering
- 15.1001Construction Engineering Technology/Technician
- 52.0101Business/Commerce, General
- 52.0201Business Administration and Management, General
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Cost Estimator?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Business Administration and Management, General, which awarded 348,906 degrees in 2024-25, 75.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Cost Estimator?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Business/Commerce, Mechanical Engineering, Construction Engineering Technology/Technician, plus 3 more. Together they graduate about 464,503 people a year.
How much do cost estimators earn?+
The median is $78,740 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $48,530 at the 10th percentile to $130,820 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for cost estimators growing?+
BLS projects a -4.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 16,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
2,555 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 7 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do cost estimators work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Estimator, Cost Analyst, Cost Estimator, Construction Estimator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-1051.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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