ROI Major

Business Administration and Management at Clark State College

OH · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.02

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Business Administration and Management degree from Clark State College earn a median salary of $48,970 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in OH, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $54,351. The degree typically pays for itself in 14.9 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

$36,368

Typical Career

$48,970

Top Performers

$66,382

Estimated break-even: 14.9 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$326

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,081. Most students can comfortably afford about a $326 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.3x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.6x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Ohio buys what costs $0.90 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 46.7%
Manufacturing 7.2%
Public Administration 6.5%

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

$54,351

Nominal: $48,970 in Ohio (COL 90.1% of national avg) · 11% 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).

14.9 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 $31,089 $41,341 $53,548
5 Years After Graduation $36,368 $48,970 $66,382
10 Years After Graduation $40,580 $51,753 $75,372

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 $48,970 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in OH, which has a cost-of-living index of 90.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $48,970 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9010) = $54,351 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Business Administration and Management program at Clark State College can expect a positive earnings trajectory over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $41,341, which increases to $48,970 after five years and reaches $51,753 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent to the national average is approximately $54,350.72, indicating that graduates' earnings maintain a competitive edge relative to the national context, especially considering Ohio's cost of living index of 0.901.

The primary industries that graduates enter are predominantly within Health Care & Social Assistance, with participation rates of 65.5%, 46.7%, and 37.0% across various roles. This concentration suggests a strong alignment between the program's training and the job market's demands. With an estimated break-even point of about 14.9 years compared to a high school-only path, the return on investment for pursuing this degree appears favorable, particularly for those entering the robust health care sector.

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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.