University Degrees With the Highest Salaries in Spain Announced. New data on the earnings and employment rates of university graduates have been published in Spain. Medical and technical specialties lead the rankings. Prospective students can use a calculator based on INE statistics.
Spain has published new data on which university degrees bring graduates the highest income and ensure stable employment four years after graduation. A calculator developed by Fundación BBVA and the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones (IVIE) allows users to compare more than 3,600 undergraduate programs at 71 universities across the country. The tool is based on INE statistics and takes into account salary levels, employment rates in the field of study, and the average salary base for Social Security contributions.
According to the study, medicine remains the leader across all indicators: graduates in this field are most likely to work in their profession, receive high salaries, and have stable employment. The top ten for employability also include other medical specialties — nursing, dentistry, and pharmacy. The remaining positions are occupied by technical disciplines: computer engineering, industrial production organization, civil engineering, telecommunications, electrical engineering, and energy.
Experts note that in the coming years, new fields related to artificial intelligence and data analysis may appear in the ranking, but for now they are absent due to their recent emergence in the education market. At the same time, despite the growing role of technology, humanities skills are still valued in changing conditions — for example, graduates in philosophy and classical philology remain in demand thanks to needs in the education sector.
For applicants and their families, not only interest in the profession but also future employment prospects remain important factors. According to Fundación Conocimiento y Desarrollo (CyD), about 15% of applicants are guided specifically by future job opportunities. However, psychologists advise not to base your choice solely on this: 17% of first-year students change their field of study within the first year. To help applicants, there are free tests, simulators for calculating passing scores, and personalized rankings. The new calculator from Fundación BBVA and IVIE complements these tools, allowing for an assessment of real prospects in each field of study.
In 2025, the number of employed young university graduates in Spain exceeded one million for the first time. Their unemployment rate is lower than that of those without higher education, while their average salary is 31% higher. At the same time, the issue of overqualification persists, although it is decreasing compared to previous years. It is important to note that competition among applicants remains high: for example, in the Basque Country, a graduate from Bilbao recently achieved record exam results and secured a place at the medical faculty, as reported in the article on admission to medicine at EHU.
For reference: INE regularly publishes data on graduate employment, which allows tracking labor market trends and adjusting educational strategies. Spain has the U-Ranking system, where you can find admission scores, tuition costs, and employment rates for each field of study. In recent years, interest in technical and medical fields has been growing, but humanities professions also retain their niche thanks to demand in education and culture.
