ROI Major

Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services at Genesee Community College

NY · Associate's Degree · CIP 19.07

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services degree from Genesee Community College earn a median salary of $32,534 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $24,647. The degree typically pays for itself in over 10 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

$25,818

Typical Career

$32,534

Top Performers

$39,032

Break-even is not clear from the available earnings data.

Debt-to-Income Check

$217

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $2,711. Most students can comfortably afford about a $217 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 0.8x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.4x 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, Retail Trade.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 27.7%
Educational Services 14.5%
Retail Trade 10.4%

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

$24,647

Nominal: $32,534 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).

>10 years (extrapolated) 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 $18,347 $24,843 $33,897
5 Years After Graduation $25,818 $32,534 $39,032
10 Years After Graduation $27,005 $36,805 $45,075

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 $32,534 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)
= $32,534 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $24,647 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services program at Genesee Community College can expect a gradual increase in earnings over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $24,843, which rises to $32,534 after five years and reaches $36,805 by the ten-year mark. However, considering the cost of living in New York, where the cost of living index is 1.32 compared to the national average of 1.0, the purchasing power-adjusted five-year salary is approximately $24,646.97, indicating that graduates may experience a diminished purchasing power relative to their peers in other states.

The primary industries that graduates enter include Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 32.2% of placements, followed by another segment within the same field at 27.7%, and Educational Services at 14.5%. While these sectors offer opportunities, the estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path exceeds ten years, suggesting that the return on investment for this educational path may take considerable time to materialize. 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.