American Jews - American Jews - Science, Business, and Academia

Science, Business, and Academia

Main articles: List of Jewish American scientists, List of Jewish American businesspeople, and List of Jewish American academics

Jews have traditionally been drawn to business and academia (see Secular Jewish culture for some of the causes), and have made major contributions in science, economics, and the humanities. Of American Nobel Prize winners, 37 percent have been Jewish Americans (18 times the percentage of Jews in the population), as have been 65 percent of the John Bates Clark Medal winners (thirty-one times the Jewish percentage). While Jewish Americans only constitute roughly 2.5 percent of the U.S. population, they occupied 7.7 percent of board seats at U.S. corporations.

Since many jobs/careers in science, business, and academia generally pay well, Jewish Americans also tend to have a higher average income than most Americans. The 2000–2001 National Jewish Population Survey shows that the median income of a Jewish family is $54,000 a year and 34% of Jewish households report income over $75,000 a year. The 2010 Inside Baltimore Jewish Lifestyle Magazine shows that the median American Jewish household income stood at $80,000 prior to the economic recession.