ROI Major

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies at Front Range Community College

CO · Associate's Degree · CIP 47.06

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies degree from Front Range Community College earn a median salary of $54,404 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in CO, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $51,764. The degree typically pays for itself in 9.6 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

$38,015

Typical Career

$54,404

Top Performers

$76,359

Estimated break-even: 9.6 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$363

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,534. Most students can comfortably afford about a $363 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.4x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.7x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Colorado buys what costs $1.05 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 28.9%
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 9.8%
Educational Services 8.2%

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

$51,764

Nominal: $54,404 in Colorado (COL 105.1% of national avg) · 4.9% 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).

9.6 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 $30,211 $39,329 $55,228
5 Years After Graduation $38,015 $54,404 $76,359
10 Years After Graduation $45,300 $71,212 $99,192

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 $54,404 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in CO, which has a cost-of-living index of 105.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $54,404 × (1.0 ÷ 1.0510) = $51,764 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies program at Front Range Community College can expect a positive earnings trajectory over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $33,960, increasing to $46,644 after five years and reaching $58,019 after ten years. However, considering the cost of living in Colorado, where the cost-of-living index is 1.051 compared to the national average of 1.0, the purchasing-power-adjusted five-year salary is approximately $44,380.59, indicating that while earnings grow, the cost of living may impact overall financial well-being.

The majority of graduates find employment in the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, with 60.3% entering this field. This trend continues with 38.9% and 28.9% of graduates also securing positions within the same industry. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 13.9 years, suggesting that while the program offers a solid return on investment, it may take nearly 14 years to surpass the financial benefits of entering the workforce directly after high school. Overall, students should weigh the long-term earnings potential against the time required to achieve financial parity.

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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.