ROI Major

Legal Support Services at CUNY Bronx Community College

NY · Associate's Degree · CIP 22.03

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Legal Support Services degree from CUNY Bronx Community College earn a median salary of $51,515 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $39,027. The degree typically pays for itself in 11.1 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

$38,243

Typical Career

$51,515

Top Performers

$69,658

Estimated break-even: 11.1 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$343

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,293. Most students can comfortably afford about a $343 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.3x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.7x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in New York buys what costs $1.32 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 35.6%
Educational Services 12.4%
Public Administration 9.1%

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

$39,027

Nominal: $51,515 in New York (COL 132.0% of national avg) · 24.2% lower 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).

11.1 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 $26,804 $39,950 $56,983
5 Years After Graduation $38,243 $51,515 $69,658
10 Years After Graduation $44,398 $62,075 $85,400

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 $51,515 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in NY, which has a cost-of-living index of 132.0% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $51,515 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $39,027 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Legal Support Services program at CUNY Bronx Community College can expect a positive earnings trajectory. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $39,950, increasing to $51,515 five years post-graduation, and reaching $62,075 after ten years. However, considering the cost of living in New York, which has a cost-of-living index of 1.32 compared to the national average of 1.0, the purchasing-power-adjusted median earnings five years after graduation are approximately $39,026.52, indicating that while earnings grow, the local economic context may impact their real value.

The top industries for graduates include Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 35.6% of employment, followed by another segment in the same field at 23.0%, and Retail Trade at 17.3%. The estimated break-even point for graduates compared to those with only a high school diploma is approximately 11.1 years, suggesting that while the program offers a pathway to higher earnings, the return on investment may take over a decade to realize fully. This analysis indicates that while there are promising job opportunities, the financial benefits may require patience and careful consideration of the local economic landscape.

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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.