ROI Major

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Elaine P. Nunez Community College

LA · Associate's Degree · CIP 24.01

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities degree from Elaine P. Nunez Community College earn a median salary of $44,933 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in LA, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $48,681. The degree typically pays for itself in 21.5 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

$31,599

Typical Career

$44,933

Top Performers

$60,918

Estimated break-even: 21.5 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$300

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,744. Most students can comfortably afford about a $300 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 Louisiana buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 22.7%
Manufacturing 17.7%
Educational Services 11.5%

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

$48,681

Nominal: $44,933 in Louisiana (COL 92.3% of national avg) · 8.3% 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).

21.5 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 $23,771 $33,485 $45,318
5 Years After Graduation $31,599 $44,933 $60,918
10 Years After Graduation $34,316 $48,487 $67,218

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 $44,933 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in LA, which has a cost-of-living index of 92.3% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $44,933 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9230) = $48,681 National Average equivalent.

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

Compare with Another School

See how the Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities degree at Elaine P. Nunez Community College stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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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.