ROI Major

Accounting and Related Services at Hocking Technical College

OH · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.03

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Accounting and Related Services degree from Hocking Technical College earn a median salary of $39,175 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in OH, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $43,479. The degree typically pays for itself in 28.8 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

$29,833

Typical Career

$39,175

Top Performers

$53,536

Estimated break-even: 28.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$261

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,265. Most students can comfortably afford about a $261 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.0x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.5x 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, Public Administration, Retail Trade.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 36.2%
Public Administration 12.6%
Retail Trade 7.5%

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

$43,479

Nominal: $39,175 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).

28.8 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 $23,940 $31,126 $40,342
5 Years After Graduation $29,833 $39,175 $53,536
10 Years After Graduation $33,861 $46,702 $60,508

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 $39,175 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)
= $39,175 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9010) = $43,479 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from Hocking Technical College's Accounting and Related Services program experience a steady increase in earnings over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $27,746, which rises to $37,357 after five years and reaches $45,075 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent nationally is approximately $41,461.71, indicating that while initial earnings may be lower than the national average, the long-term trajectory shows promise as graduates gain experience and advance in their careers.

The majority of graduates enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, with 88.9% of them finding employment in this field. This concentration suggests a strong demand for accounting professionals within health-related industries, which may provide stability and growth opportunities. However, the estimated break-even point for this educational path compared to a high school diploma is approximately 37.1 years, indicating that while there are potential earnings benefits, the return on investment may take considerable time to materialize.

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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.