Which four-year degree programs at each University of Hawaiʻi campus lead to living-wage earnings within five years of graduation, and how do their median wages change over time?
Workforce Understory Episode: Episode Two — Understanding Underemployment
Geography: Statewide
Topic: Living-wage attainment, campus access, degree outcomes, and geographic equity
The takeaway
UH Mānoa offers the widest range of four-year degree programs shown reaching a living wage within five years of graduation, with eleven qualifying programs.
Nursing produces the strongest wage trajectory at both campuses where it appears. At UH Mānoa, median wages rise from approximately $59,848 in year one to $110,503 in year five—roughly $24,000 above the next-highest program. At UH Hilo, Nursing increases from approximately $56,070 to $101,053 over the same period.
Outside Mānoa, the number of qualifying programs narrows substantially. UH Hilo has three programs shown, UH Maui College has one, and UH West Oʻahu has two.
Where a student attends college substantially shapes which living-wage degree pathways are available to them.
What this visualization shows
This visualization compares the year-by-year median wages of four-year degree programs that reach the living-wage threshold within five years of graduation, organized by University of Hawaiʻi campus.
UH Mānoa has the broadest set of qualifying programs. Nursing stands well above the others by year five, but students can also access living-wage pathways across a wider range of professional and technical fields.
UH Hilo has three programs shown. Nursing again produces the strongest wage outcome, rising to approximately $101,053 by year five. The other two qualifying programs are in Education, with median wages reaching approximately $60,000.
UH Maui College has one qualifying four-year program: Engineering Technology. Its earnings show some year-to-year fluctuation, reaching approximately $74,362 in year three and $74,992 by year five, rather than following a perfectly steady upward path.
UH West Oʻahu has two qualifying technology programs. Computer Electronics and Network Technology and Information Technology begin below approximately $46,000 and reach roughly $62,000 to $68,000 by year five.
The comparison shows that living-wage pathways exist across the UH System, but they are not distributed evenly. The number and variety of options available to a student depend heavily on the campus they can access.
Why this matters
For many students, campus choice is shaped by geography before it is shaped by academic preference.
A student living on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, or in West Oʻahu may need to balance program availability against housing, relocation costs, employment, caregiving, transportation, and proximity to family. Attending UH Mānoa may not be financially or practically possible, even when it offers the program most closely aligned with the student’s goals.
That means the concentration of living-wage programs at Mānoa is also a question of equitable access.
The comparison is especially striking outside Oʻahu. UH Hilo’s qualifying pathways depend heavily on Nursing and Education. UH Maui College has only one four-year program shown reaching the threshold, while UH West Oʻahu’s qualifying pathways are concentrated in technology.
Nursing provides the clearest living-wage trajectory across campuses, but a statewide workforce strategy cannot depend on a single field. Nursing programs have limited capacity, require specialized clinical training, and prepare students for one particular profession. Not every student is interested in or suited for that pathway, and the healthcare system can absorb only a finite number of graduates.
A resilient education-to-career system requires multiple credible routes to economic security within every region.
Expanding access does not necessarily require recreating every Mānoa program on every campus. Shared faculty, hybrid delivery, inter-campus enrollment, regional employer partnerships, and carefully selected program expansion could help make high-value pathways available to more students.
This evidence invites Hawaiʻi to ask:
How can students access a meaningful range of living-wage degree pathways regardless of which island or campus they call home?
Evidence:
Questions this visualization helps answer
Which campus offers the widest range of qualifying living-wage programs?
Which degree produces the strongest five-year wage outcome?
How does Nursing’s wage trajectory compare across UH Mānoa and UH Hilo?
How many qualifying programs are shown at UH Hilo, UH Maui College, and UH West Oʻahu?
Which fields provide living-wage pathways outside UH Mānoa?
How evenly are living-wage degree opportunities distributed across the UH System?
Do qualifying programs follow steady wage-growth trajectories, or do some fluctuate over time?
Curiosity:
Questions this visualization raises
Why are so many of the qualifying living-wage programs concentrated at UH Mānoa?
Which programs are available only at Mānoa?
How many Neighbor Island students are unable to pursue those programs because relocation is impractical or unaffordable?
Is Nursing effectively the UH System’s clearest and most portable living-wage pathway?
How many students can Nursing programs enroll, support through clinical training, and graduate each year?
Does Hawaiʻi have sufficient employer demand to absorb additional Nursing graduates?
Why does Nursing so substantially outpace other programs at both Mānoa and Hilo?
Which two Education programs at UH Hilo reach approximately $60,000, and how narrowly do they clear the living-wage threshold?
Does the living-wage calculation account for differences in cost of living across islands and counties?
Why does UH Maui College have only one four-year program shown reaching the threshold?
What explains the year-to-year fluctuation in Engineering Technology wages?
Are UH West Oʻahu’s technology programs aligned with sufficient local employer demand?
How do the outcomes of West Oʻahu’s technology programs compare with similar programs at Mānoa or outside Hawaiʻi?
Which high-value programs could be expanded responsibly at Neighbor Island campuses?
Could shared online courses, hybrid programs, traveling faculty, or inter-campus partnerships increase access?
Which pathways require facilities, laboratories, clinical placements, or employer partnerships that are difficult to replicate?
Are students receiving clear information about which programs at their campus are likely to produce living-wage earnings?
How many students begin at a local campus and later transfer to Mānoa to access specialized programs?
What financial, housing, transportation, and advising supports would make inter-campus transfer more realistic?
How should UH decide which programs to expand based on student interest, regional workforce demand, cost, and likely economic return?
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