ROI Major

Accounting and Related Services at Eastern Gateway Community College

OH · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.03

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Accounting and Related Services degree from Eastern Gateway Community College earn a median salary of $44,308 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in OH, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $49,176. The degree typically pays for itself in 19.8 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

$33,005

Typical Career

$44,308

Top Performers

$61,332

Estimated break-even: 19.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$295

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,692. Most students can comfortably afford about a $295 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.1x 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, Retail Trade, Educational Services.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 36.2%
Retail Trade 13.0%
Educational Services 6.9%

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

$49,176

Nominal: $44,308 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).

19.8 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 $30,912 $46,016 $60,864
5 Years After Graduation $33,005 $44,308 $61,332
10 Years After Graduation $36,674 $47,574 $64,085

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 $44,308 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)
= $44,308 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9010) = $49,176 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of Accounting and Related Services at Eastern Gateway Community College experience a varied earnings trajectory. One year after graduation, median earnings stand at $46,016.00, which slightly declines to $44,308.00 five years post-graduation before increasing to $47,574.00 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary aligns with a national equivalent of $49,176.47, reflecting the impact of the cost of living in Ohio (COL index: 0.901). This suggests that while initial earnings are promising, long-term financial growth may be more modest than anticipated.

The top industries for graduates predominantly include Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 63.8% of employment, followed by Retail Trade at 13.0%. This concentration in health-related sectors indicates a strong demand for accounting professionals in these fields. However, the estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 19.8 years, suggesting that while there are opportunities for growth, the return on investment may take significant time to materialize. Overall, students should weigh these factors carefully when considering their career trajectory in this field.

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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.