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Fire Protection at Blinn College

TX · Associate's Degree · CIP 43.02

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Fire Protection degree from Blinn College earn a median salary of $75,548 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in TX, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $82,028. The degree typically pays for itself in 5.8 years.

Quick Insights

Solid Investment

How this degree looks at a glance

A fast read on salary range, break-even speed, living-cost impact, and where graduates from this school usually land.

Salary Ranges

Starting Range

$61,104

Typical Career

$75,548

Top Performers

$91,432

Estimated break-even: 5.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$504

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $6,296. Most students can comfortably afford about a $504 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.9x more than the average US high school graduate and 1.0x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Texas buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Educational Services, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 25.5%
Educational Services 17.6%
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 7.9%

Institution-wide industry mix for graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.

5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent

$82,028

Nominal: $75,548 in Texas (COL 92.1% of national avg) · 8.6% higher purchasing power

10-Year Earnings Curve

Break-Even Timeline

How long until cumulative earnings advantage exceeds total college investment (tuition + opportunity cost vs. entering workforce directly after high school).

5.8 years to break even
Graduation 15 years

Total Investment

$155,168

4yr tuition + 4yr opportunity cost

HS Graduate Baseline

$38,792/yr

BLS 2023 median, HS diploma

View Raw Data: Median Earnings by Year
Timeframe 25th Pct. Median (50th) 75th Pct.
1 Year After Graduation $35,634 $50,653 $64,540
5 Years After Graduation $61,104 $75,548 $91,432
10 Years After Graduation $73,157 $91,284 $112,340

Source: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), 2025 release. Earnings shown for Bachelor's degree graduates (all cohorts combined).

How We Calculate Purchasing Power

The median salary of $75,548 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in TX, which has a cost-of-living index of 92.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $75,548 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9210) = $82,028 National Average equivalent.

COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Fire Protection program at Blinn College can expect a promising earnings trajectory. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $52,018, which increases significantly to $74,080 after five years, and reaches $90,071 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the median earnings five years post-graduation equate to approximately $80,434.31 nationally, reflecting a competitive salary relative to the cost of living in Texas, where the cost of living index is 0.921 compared to the national average of 1.0.

The majority of graduates enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sectors, with 70.4% of them finding employment in this field. The estimated break-even point for those pursuing this degree versus a high-school-only path is approximately 5.9 years, indicating a favorable return on investment for students. Given the strong earnings potential and the significant demand in top industries, pursuing a degree in Fire Protection at Blinn College appears to be a sound career choice.

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Data sources: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO). Cost-of-living index: BLS Regional CPI & MIT Living Wage Project. Cost of attendance: IPEDS. For informational use only; data may be suppressed for small cohort sizes.