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Hospitality Administration/Management Degree

135 schools compared · Average earnings $35,218/yr

Students study hotel operations, restaurant management, event planning, tourism marketing, and the service management skills needed to lead hospitality businesses. Graduates typically pursue careers as hotel general managers, event directors, food and beverage directors, tourism marketers, and resort operations managers. The global hospitality industry offers opportunities for rapid advancement and international career mobility.

What Hospitality Administration/Management Graduates Do

Your career in hospitality is about orchestrating flawless human experiences. As a food service manager, you’ll spend less time on menus and more on managing inventory systems, scheduling staff for a chaotic Saturday night, and resolving customer complaints in real time. In lodging management, you might analyze occupancy reports one hour and deal with a plumbing emergency or a VIP guest's unique request the next. Many start in hands-on roles like assistant manager before progressing to run entire hotels, event divisions, or restaurant chains, with some paths leading to six-figure salaries in broader business operations.

While roles in entertainment and food service management show strong growth, technology is changing the work. With a moderate AI exposure rating, expect automated systems to handle routine tasks like bookings, basic scheduling, and inventory. Your job isn't disappearing; it's evolving. Your value will shift from performing these tasks to leveraging the data they provide. Success will mean focusing on what AI can’t do: leading your team, negotiating complex vendor contracts, and providing the high-touch, creative problem-solving that defines five-star service.

Schools Offering

135

Avg Grad Earnings

$35,218/yr

Avg DegreeOutlook Score

47/100

AI Automation Risk

High

48% task exposure

Common Career Paths

Where Hospitality Administration/Management graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 310,600 combined openings per year.

Career Path	Salary Range	Openings/yr	Growth	AI Risk
Managers, all other	$136,550 $100K$179K	106,700	+4.5%	47%
Facilities managers	$104,690 $80K$136K	13,200	+3.8%	48%
Business teachers, postsecondary	$97,270 $63K$140K	8,100	+5.7%	49%
Gambling managers	$85,580 $70K$120K	600	+1.2%	57%
Business operations specialists, all other	$81,270 $61K$110K	108,200	+3.0%	52%
Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling	$77,180 $58K$102K	5,500	+7.7%	35%
Lodging managers	$68,130 $50K$91K	5,400	+3.4%	46%
Food service managers	$65,310 $53K$82K	42,000	+6.4%	42%
First-line supervisors of gambling services workers	$61,590 $49K$74K	3,300	+2.0%	43%
Personal service managers, all other	$61,340 $48K$83K	2,100	+6.5%	52%
Meeting, convention, and event planners	$59,440 $46K$77K	15,500	+4.8%	49%

Managers, all other

$136,550

$100K $179K

106,700 openings/yr +4.5% growth 47% AI risk

Facilities managers

$104,690

$80K $136K

13,200 openings/yr +3.8% growth 48% AI risk

Business teachers, postsecondary

$97,270

$63K $140K

8,100 openings/yr +5.7% growth 49% AI risk

Gambling managers

$85,580

$70K $120K

600 openings/yr +1.2% growth 57% AI risk

Business operations specialists, all other

$81,270

$61K $110K

108,200 openings/yr +3.0% growth 52% AI risk

Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling

$77,180

$58K $102K

5,500 openings/yr +7.7% growth 35% AI risk

Lodging managers

$68,130

$50K $91K

5,400 openings/yr +3.4% growth 46% AI risk

Food service managers

$65,310

$53K $82K

42,000 openings/yr +6.4% growth 42% AI risk

First-line supervisors of gambling services workers

$61,590

$49K $74K

3,300 openings/yr +2.0% growth 43% AI risk

Personal service managers, all other

$61,340

$48K $83K

2,100 openings/yr +6.5% growth 52% AI risk

Meeting, convention, and event planners

$59,440

$46K $77K

15,500 openings/yr +4.8% growth 49% AI risk

Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).

Best Schools for Hospitality Administration/Management

Top 20 of 135 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	64 58–64	$77,803/yr	2.7x
2	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	62 54–63	$46,915/yr	11.0x
3	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	62 54–62	$41,506/yr	13.2x
4	Utah Valley University Orem, UT	61 53–62	$42,070/yr	19.9x
5	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	61 53–62	$40,009/yr	16.7x
6	Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL	60 52–60	$36,827/yr	26.4x
7	George Washington University Washington, DC	59 51–59	$53,625/yr	2.6x
8	Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL	59 51–59	$39,108/yr	19.7x
9	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	59 51–60	$37,330/yr	22.4x
10	California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA	59 52–60	$34,015/yr	21.0x
11	University of Wisconsin-Stout Menomonie, WI	58 50–59	$43,359/yr	12.3x
12	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	58 50–59	$41,099/yr	12.9x
13	University of Delaware Newark, DE	58 49–58	$37,563/yr	10.3x
14	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	57 49–58	$45,771/yr	8.7x
15	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	57 49–58	$45,151/yr	9.4x
16	Kansas State University Manhattan, KS	57 49–58	$42,073/yr	11.6x
17	East Carolina University Greenville, NC	57 49–57	$38,049/yr	16.4x
18	American Public University System Charles Town, WV	57 49–58	$37,174/yr	15.4x
19	University of Mississippi University, MS	57 49–57	$34,282/yr	15.3x
20	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	57 49–57	$34,153/yr	18.0x
21	Appalachian State University Boone, NC	57 49–57	$33,702/yr	18.2x
22	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE	56 48–57	$39,689/yr	12.5x
23	Washington State University Pullman, WA	55 47–55	$41,251/yr	9.8x
24	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	55 47–56	$41,069/yr	8.7x
25	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	55 47–55	$35,878/yr	12.9x
26	University of South Florida Tampa, FL	55 48–56	$34,703/yr	18.9x
27	North Dakota State University-Main Campus Fargo, ND	54 46–55	$41,984/yr	10.7x
28	University of North Texas Denton, TX	54 46–55	$41,183/yr	10.5x
29	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	54 46–55	$39,266/yr	8.1x
30	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	54 46–54	$33,624/yr	18.5x
31	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	53 45–54	$41,688/yr	9.3x
32	Auburn University Auburn, AL	53 45–54	$40,664/yr	9.6x
33	College of Charleston Charleston, SC	53 44–53	$39,688/yr	9.4x
34	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO	53 45–54	$38,351/yr	11.2x
35	Iowa State University Ames, IA	53 45–53	$36,743/yr	11.6x
36	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV	53 45–53	$35,277/yr	13.1x
37	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	53 45–53	$33,930/yr	15.8x
38	Florida International University Miami, FL	53 46–54	$33,364/yr	17.8x
39	Campbell University Buies Creek, NC	52 44–52	$44,464/yr	3.2x
40	Purdue University Northwest Hammond, IN	52 44–53	$39,017/yr	12.5x
41	East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, PA	52 44–53	$38,531/yr	10.5x
42	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	52 44–53	$36,986/yr	10.0x
43	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO	52 44–52	$36,451/yr	12.5x
44	The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX	52 44–53	$35,569/yr	12.9x
45	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	52 44–52	$34,560/yr	15.6x
46	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA	52 45–53	$32,939/yr	14.6x
47	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC	52 45–52	$31,952/yr	15.8x
48	SUNY College at Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, NY	51 43–52	$39,099/yr	11.6x
49	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC	51 43–51	$36,690/yr	9.5x
50	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN	51 44–52	$36,439/yr	9.5x
51	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA	51 43–52	$35,039/yr	14.1x
52	South Dakota State University Brookings, SD	51 43–51	$32,512/yr	13.1x
53	Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC	51 45–51	$29,395/yr	24.9x
54	National Louis University Chicago, IL	50 42–51	$42,196/yr	8.5x
55	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	50 42–51	$38,916/yr	8.3x
56	Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH	50 42–50	$37,829/yr	7.5x
57	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ	50 42–51	$37,402/yr	9.3x
58	Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN	50 42–50	$37,151/yr	10.5x
59	Fort Hays State University Hays, KS	50 43–51	$34,004/yr	14.1x
60	University of Houston Houston, TX	50 43–50	$32,639/yr	12.4x
61	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI	49 41–50	$37,187/yr	8.3x
62	Morgan State University Baltimore, MD	49 41–50	$36,845/yr	12.1x
63	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH	49 41–50	$36,590/yr	6.7x
64	California State University-Monterey Bay Seaside, CA	49 41–50	$35,760/yr	11.0x
65	University of West Florida Pensacola, FL	49 42–50	$34,656/yr	15.2x
66	Kent State University at Ashtabula Ashtabula, OH	49 41–49	$31,926/yr	14.6x
67	University of South Carolina Beaufort Bluffton, SC	48 40–49	$34,503/yr	10.4x
68	Purdue University Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, IN	48 41–49	$34,013/yr	11.8x
69	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	48 41–49	$33,869/yr	9.8x
70	Husson University Bangor, ME	47 38–47	$40,812/yr	3.6x
71	University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne, MD	47 40–48	$36,472/yr	10.9x
72	Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO	47 39–47	$34,395/yr	10.9x
73	Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT	47 39–47	$33,685/yr	9.2x
74	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	47 40–48	$32,178/yr	10.0x
75	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	47 43–48	$25,340/yr	17.1x
76	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	46 38–47	$37,743/yr	6.2x
77	York College of Pennsylvania York, PA	46 38–46	$37,238/yr	4.5x
78	Northwestern State University of Louisiana Natchitoches, LA	46 38–47	$35,452/yr	10.6x
79	University of Denver Denver, CO	45 37–46	$47,679/yr	1.6x
80	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus Teaneck, NJ	45 37–46	$38,330/yr	3.2x
81	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus Madison, NJ	45 37–46	$38,330/yr	3.2x
82	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI	45 38–46	$35,406/yr	7.4x
83	Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC	45 38–46	$34,300/yr	9.0x
84	SUNY Buffalo State University Buffalo, NY	45 38–46	$31,629/yr	11.9x
85	Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Indiana, PA	45 39–46	$30,307/yr	10.1x
86	New York University New York, NY	44 35–44	$40,637/yr	1.8x
87	Temple University Philadelphia, PA	44 37–45	$35,339/yr	5.0x
88	Indiana University-Kokomo Kokomo, IN	44 37–45	$32,325/yr	8.9x
89	Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX	44 38–45	$30,758/yr	10.3x
90	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY	44 39–45	$27,809/yr	9.5x
91	Johnson & Wales University-Online Providence, RI	43 35–43	$33,374/yr	7.6x
92	University of Memphis Memphis, TN	43 36–44	$31,190/yr	9.9x
93	Stockton University Galloway, NJ	43 36–43	$30,833/yr	7.4x
94	University of New Orleans New Orleans, LA	43 37–43	$27,878/yr	11.5x
95	Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ	42 35–43	$34,370/yr	3.9x
96	Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL	42 35–42	$32,337/yr	5.4x
97	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH	42 35–42	$31,926/yr	7.8x
98	New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM	42 36–43	$29,942/yr	11.3x
99	Roosevelt University Chicago, IL	41 33–41	$35,871/yr	4.3x
100	Lasell University Newton, MA	41 34–41	$31,858/yr	4.3x
101	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV	41 35–41	$30,363/yr	6.9x
102	Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI	41 35–41	$29,405/yr	7.1x
103	Saint Leo University Saint Leo, FL	41 35–41	$28,130/yr	4.5x
104	North Carolina Central University Durham, NC	41 36–42	$27,752/yr	9.6x
105	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi Delhi, NY	41 36–42	$27,450/yr	11.3x
106	Boston University Boston, MA	40 32–41	$44,657/yr	1.0x
107	University of Southern Maine Portland, ME	40 34–41	$29,924/yr	5.9x
108	Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY	40 34–41	$29,492/yr	8.7x
109	Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH	40 35–41	$28,245/yr	9.4x
110	ECPI University Virginia Beach, VA	39 32–40	$33,711/yr	4.7x
111	University of South Alabama Mobile, AL	39 33–39	$28,310/yr	6.3x
112	Arkansas Tech University Russellville, AR	39 34–40	$27,969/yr	7.2x
113	Widener University Chester, PA	38 30–39	$37,861/yr	1.6x
114	Endicott College Beverly, MA	38 30–38	$34,562/yr	2.3x
115	Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI	38 31–39	$33,228/yr	5.5x
116	Ball State University Muncie, IN	38 33–39	$28,071/yr	5.5x
117	CUNY New York City College of Technology Brooklyn, NY	38 34–39	$25,494/yr	11.6x
118	Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park, NY	37 29–37	$35,865/yr	2.0x
119	Robert Morris University Moon Township, PA	37 30–37	$32,255/yr	1.3x
120	Niagara University Niagara University, NY	37 30–37	$31,790/yr	2.6x
121	Walnut Hill College Philadelphia, PA	37 30–37	$30,352/yr	2.2x
122	University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette, LA	37 31–38	$28,587/yr	8.1x
123	DePaul University Chicago, IL	36 28–37	$34,722/yr	1.9x
124	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI	36 30–36	$29,002/yr	6.4x
125	Mercyhurst University Erie, PA	35 28–36	$34,675/yr	1.7x
126	Flagler College Saint Augustine, FL	35 29–36	$29,632/yr	1.8x
127	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY	34 26–34	$35,449/yr	0.8x
128	Johnson & Wales University-Providence Providence, RI	34 27–35	$33,374/yr	1.9x
129	Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte Charlotte, NC	34 27–35	$33,374/yr	1.9x
130	Monroe College Bronx, NY	33 28–34	$26,930/yr	4.7x
131	Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI	31 28–31	$21,074/yr	6.1x
132	St. John's University-New York Queens, NY	30 24–31	$29,391/yr	1.4x
133	St. Joseph's University-New York Brooklyn, NY	30 26–31	$24,571/yr	0.8x
134	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Carolina Campus Carolina, PR	30 28–31	$14,978/yr	9.1x
135	New York Institute of Technology Old Westbury, NY	29 26–30	$22,974/yr	0.3x

Highest Earning Hospitality Administration/Management Programs

Schools where Hospitality Administration/Management graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score
Cornell University	$77,803/yr	64
George Washington University	$53,625/yr	59
University of Denver	$47,679/yr	45
James Madison University	$46,915/yr	62
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	$45,771/yr	57
George Mason University	$45,151/yr	57
Boston University	$44,657/yr	40
Campbell University	$44,464/yr	52
University of Wisconsin-Stout	$43,359/yr	58
National Louis University	$42,196/yr	50

Best ROI for Hospitality Administration/Management

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Hospitality Administration/Management.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
Florida Atlantic University	26.4x	$36,827/yr	60
Western Carolina University	24.9x	$29,395/yr	51
Florida State University	22.4x	$37,330/yr	59
California State University-East Bay	21.0x	$34,015/yr	59
Utah Valley University	19.9x	$42,070/yr	61
Florida Gulf Coast University	19.7x	$39,108/yr	59
University of South Florida	18.9x	$34,703/yr	55
University of Central Florida	18.5x	$33,624/yr	54
Appalachian State University	18.2x	$33,702/yr	57
San Francisco State University	18.0x	$34,153/yr	57

Want to compare two Hospitality Administration/Management programs side by side? Use the comparison tool →

Related Majors

Explore similar fields of study.

Consider the Trade Route

Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Hospitality Administration/Management offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Hospitality Administration/Management graduates earn?

Across 135 schools, Hospitality Administration/Management graduates earn an average of $35,218 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $14,978 to $77,803 depending on the school.

What is the AI automation risk for Hospitality Administration/Management?

Hospitality Administration/Management is rated "High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 48% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means some career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

Which school has the best Hospitality Administration/Management program?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), Cornell University ranks #1 for Hospitality Administration/Management with a score of 64/100 and graduate earnings of $77,803/yr.

What's the outlook for a Hospitality Administration/Management degree?

On average, Hospitality Administration/Management graduates earn 9.5x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly.

Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →