Online cybersecurity degree: is it worth it in 2026?

Whether an online cybersecurity bachelor’s is worth it in 2026 comes down to graduates’ pay against yours: in College Scorecard’s October 2026 data, graduates who finished in 2017-18 or 2018-19 earned a median $57,805 in security science and $85,063 in IT administration in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.

IT administration is a wider field that includes security programs. By our comparison, both medians sit below the $129,180 that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports for information security analysts in May 2025, though the two count different people in different years: BLSBLS, Bureau of Labor Statistics. The U.S. Department of Labor agency that publishes pay and job outlook figures for each occupation.’s figure is for workers already in the job, at every level of experience.

You are paying with your own money this time, so test the degree against graduates’ pay and against what you earn now. More online programs by field are on the online degrees hub.

Two Scorecard fields hold the CIP codes written for security programs

College Scorecard reports pay by field of study, using the federal CIP codes, not by program name. Two of its fields hold the codes written for security programs, and each also holds programs that are not security.

11.10, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management, holds 11.1003, “Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance,” next to network administration, IT project management, web management and computer support programs.

43.04, Security Science and Technology, holds 43.0403, “Cyber/Computer Forensics and Counterterrorism,” and 43.0404, “Cybersecurity Defense Strategy/Policy,” next to forensic science, criminalistics, financial forensics and intelligence analysis.

Both lists come from the NCES CIP 2020 pages. Source · NCES CIP 2020, 11.10 Source · NCES CIP 2020, 43.04

So neither figure is “cybersecurity graduates” alone. Ask a school which CIP code its program reports under before you read its row.

Bachelor’s grads who finished 2017-18 or 2018-19 earned $57,805 or $85,063 (2024 dollars)

Scorecard’s figure is the median pay of graduates who were working and not enrolled four years after finishing. For graduates who finished in 2017-18 or 2018-19, paid in 2022 and 2023 (2024 dollars), the national medians in the October 15, 2026 release are:

• Associate graduates: $54,726 in IT administration and $43,839 in security science.
• Bachelor’s graduates: $85,063 in IT administration and $57,805 in security science.
• Master’s graduates: $121,855 in IT administration and $82,399 in security science.

At the bachelor’s level, Scorecard publishes the figure for about one school in five. Of 469 schools reporting an 11.10 bachelor’s, 101 have a published earnings median, and in 43.04 it is 47 of 225 (our count from the Scorecard file).

Schools offering the field fully online are the smaller share. At the bachelor’s level, 102 of the 469 schools in 11.10 say every credential in the field can be finished fully online, and 22 of the 225 in 43.04 (Scorecard’s distance-education flag, our count).

BLS’s $129,180 is every analyst’s pay, not a new graduate’s

BLS put the median for information security analysts at $129,180 in May 2025, against $50,980 for all occupations. The median is the analyst in the middle of the job, at any experience level. Source · BLS OOH: Information security analysts

One in ten analysts earned less than $75,090, and one in four less than $97,810. By our comparison, the security science bachelor’s median ($57,805 for 2017-18 and 2018-19 graduates, paid in 2022 and 2023, 2024 dollars) is below that 10th percentile, though the two count different people in different years.

Scorecard counts every working graduate of a field, in whatever job they took. BLS counts wage-and-salary workers already in the job, however they got there. That difference, and the different years, is why the BLS figure alone cannot tell you what the degree pays.

BLS projects 21 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, against 3 percent for all occupations, and about 14,100 openings a year. BLS says many of those openings “are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force.”

SNHU’s page quotes BLS pay for all analysts, not its graduates

Southern New Hampshire University’s (SNHU) cybersecurity page, read October 26, 2026, quotes the May 2024 BLS median of $124,910 and says the figure is “not based on wage data for SNHU graduates.” Source · SNHU BS in Cybersecurity

BLS’s current figures are $129,180 for May 2025 and 21 percent growth for 2025 to 2035.

Scorecard has the graduates’ figure where it publishes one. These are the eight schools with the most 11.10 bachelor’s awards in 2023-24 among those whose every credential in the field can be finished fully online, by Scorecard’s distance-education flag (our selection from the Scorecard file, not a ranking).

Pay is for graduates who finished in 2017-18 or 2018-19, paid in 2022 and 2023 (2024 dollars). Debt is the median federal loan debt of graduates who finished in 2022-23 or 2023-24.

• Western Governors University, $129,303 pay and $14,104 debt (2,736 awards)
• University of Maryland Global Campus, $100,937 pay and $20,492 debt (865 awards)
• Southern New Hampshire University, pay not published and $22,000 debt (538 awards)
• American Public University System, $86,275 pay and $20,192 debt (512 awards)
• Purdue University Global, $87,413 pay and $31,960 debt (338 awards)
• Arizona State University Digital Immersion, $98,055 pay and $28,292 debt (263 awards)
• Old Dominion University, pay not published and $18,617 debt (251 awards)
• Bellevue University, $84,901 pay and $24,629 debt (211 awards)

Each school’s figures cover every program it reports under 11.10, security and the rest together. A school’s median is its past graduates’ pay, not a forecast of yours.

To find a school’s own row, see how to check what a college’s graduates earn. For program-by-program comparisons in computer science and IT, see the best online technology programs.

Payback on the same $42,480 runs from under a year to never

Example (hypothetical): an IT support worker at the BLS median for computer user support specialists, $61,860 in May 2025, pays SNHU’s listed $42,480 for a 120-credit cybersecurity bachelor’s. Payback is the tuition divided by the yearly raise. Which raise you assume decides the answer.

If this worker landed an analyst job at the BLS median, the price would pay back in under a year (our math). At the security science median for 2017-18 and 2018-19 graduates (2024 dollars), this worker would earn less than now, by our math, though the years differ. The BLS rows assume you land the analyst job, which BLS says typically takes related work experience too.

Price moves the same math. SNHU says $21,240 remains if 60 transfer credits are accepted, and Western Governors University (WGU) charges $4,425 per six-month term for its B.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance, for terms from October 1, 2026.

BLS lists a degree, IT experience and, for many employers, certification

BLS lists a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry education, plus less than 5 years of work experience in a related occupation. What it says about each, in its own words:

1. A bachelor's degree

   Analysts “typically need a bachelor’s degree in computer and information technology or a related field, such as engineering or math.”

2. Experience in an IT department

   “Many analysts have experience in an information technology department, often as a network and computer systems administrator.” BLS put that job’s median at $99,130 in May 2025.

3. Certification many employers prefer

   “Many employers prefer to hire candidates who have information security certification.” BLS says some certifications are for workers at the entry level and others for experienced workers.

BLS also names a route without the degree: “some workers enter the occupation with a high school diploma and relevant industry training and certifications.” BLS still lists the degree plus related experience as what analysts typically need.

The two can stack. SNHU says industry certifications such as CompTIA A+, Network+ and Linux+ may transfer as credit toward its degree; credit for what you already know is covered in CLEP, DSST and other prior learning credit.

Federal aid lowers the price side of the math

Pell Grants pay up to $7,395 for 2026-27 to undergraduates who qualify. By our math, that maximum is $3,225 less than 30 credits at SNHU’s $354 a credit, and $1,455 less than two WGU cybersecurity terms.

Who runs the school is one more thing to check; see nonprofit vs for-profit online colleges. For the broader question across fields, see whether an online degree is worth it.

Four checks before you pay for a program

1. Ask which CIP code the program reports under

   11.10 and 43.04 pay differently. The code tells you which of the school’s Scorecard rows includes the program.

2. Look up the school's own row

   Search the school on College Scorecard and open its fields of study. “Not published” means you have no graduate figure to go on.

3. Price the credits you have left

   Get a transfer evaluation in writing, including any certifications you hold.

4. Count the experience BLS expects

   If you have no IT job yet, compare against the field medians, not the analyst median.

Frequently asked questions

Is a cybersecurity degree worth it without IT experience?

BLS says analysts typically need a bachelor’s degree “along with related work experience,” and many have worked in an IT department. Without that experience, compare the price against the field medians for graduates: $57,805 in security science and $85,063 in IT administration (finished 2017-18 or 2018-19, paid in 2022 and 2023, 2024 dollars).

Cybersecurity degree vs certifications: which do employers want?

BLS lists a bachelor’s degree as typical and says “employers may prefer to hire analysts who have professional certification.” It also says some workers enter “with a high school diploma and relevant industry training and certifications.” Certification details are on CareerOneStop, which BLS links.

What is the salary with a cybersecurity degree?

For graduates, College Scorecard’s October 2026 medians four years out are $57,805 (security science) and $85,063 (IT administration) for bachelor’s graduates who finished in 2017-18 or 2018-19, paid in 2022 and 2023 in 2024 dollars. For workers in the analyst job, BLS reports $129,180 for May 2025.

Next step: run your own payback, then your aid

Put your current pay and one program’s yearly price into the ROI calculator, and read the payback at the median and at the low end.

Then run the aid check. It estimates a full-time Pell Grant and your federal loan limits under the rules for the year you start (2026-27 or 2027-28), so you can take them off the price. School matching comes after your result, and it is optional.

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