ROI Major

Health and Medical Administrative Services at College Of DuPage

IL · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.07

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Health and Medical Administrative Services degree from College Of DuPage earn a median salary of $57,471 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in IL, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $62,605. The degree typically pays for itself in 8.8 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

$44,521

Typical Career

$57,471

Top Performers

$66,325

Estimated break-even: 8.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$383

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,789. Most students can comfortably afford about a $383 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.5x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.7x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Illinois buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 27.8%
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 8.9%
Educational Services 8.3%

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

$62,605

Nominal: $57,471 in Illinois (COL 91.8% of national avg) · 8.9% 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).

8.8 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 $35,492 $45,985 $58,052
5 Years After Graduation $44,521 $57,471 $66,325
10 Years After Graduation $50,539 $68,802 $84,259

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 $57,471 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in IL, which has a cost-of-living index of 91.8% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $57,471 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9180) = $62,605 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Health and Medical Administrative Services program at College of DuPage experience a positive earnings trajectory over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $41,311, increasing to $49,868 after five years and reaching $55,097 by the ten-year mark. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent nationally is approximately $54,322.44, indicating that graduates maintain a competitive income relative to national standards despite the cost of living index in Illinois being slightly lower than the national average.

The primary industries for graduates are predominantly within Health Care & Social Assistance, with 37.4% entering this sector, followed by 28.4% and 27.8% in similar roles. The estimated break-even point for those pursuing this path compared to a high-school-only education is approximately 13.1 years, suggesting a reasonable return on investment for students. Overall, the career prospects and financial benefits associated with this program indicate a solid opportunity for those interested in health administration.

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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.