ROI Major

Public Administration and Social Service, General at Century College

MN · Associate's Degree · CIP 44.00

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Public Administration and Social Service, General degree from Century College earn a median salary of $45,466 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in MN, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $48,317. The degree typically pays for itself in 13.4 years.

Quick Insights

Slow Burn / High Debt Risk

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

$31,905

Typical Career

$45,466

Top Performers

$58,547

Estimated break-even: 13.4 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$303

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,789. Most students can comfortably afford about a $303 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.2x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.6x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Minnesota buys what costs $0.94 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Public Administration, Manufacturing.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 35.3%
Public Administration 9.1%
Manufacturing 7.3%

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

$48,317

Nominal: $45,466 in Minnesota (COL 94.1% of national avg) · 6.3% 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).

13.4 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 $25,850 $38,467 $50,143
5 Years After Graduation $31,905 $45,466 $58,547
10 Years After Graduation $38,692 $58,574 $68,098

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 $45,466 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in MN, which has a cost-of-living index of 94.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $45,466 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9410) = $48,317 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Public Administration and Social Service program at Century College can expect a steady earnings trajectory. One year after graduation, median earnings are reported at $38,467, which increases to $45,466 after five years and reaches $58,574 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent nationally is approximately $48,316.68, indicating that graduates may experience a favorable financial outlook relative to the cost of living in Minnesota, which has a cost-of-living index of 0.941 compared to the national average.

The primary industries that graduates enter predominantly include Health Care & Social Assistance, with 39.8%, 35.3%, and 26.0% of graduates finding roles in this sector. This concentration suggests that the program effectively prepares students for careers in a growing field. The estimated break-even point for graduates compared to those with only a high school diploma is approximately 13.4 years, indicating a reasonable return on investment over time. Overall, pursuing a degree in Public Administration and Social Service at Century College appears to offer a solid pathway to stable employment and increasing earnings potential.

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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.