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Health Professions and Related Programs — CIP 51.39 at Howard County Junior College District

TX · Certificate Degree · CIP 51.39

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Health Professions and Related Programs — CIP 51.39 degree from Howard County Junior College District earn a median salary of $55,322 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in TX, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $60,067. 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

$43,656

Typical Career

$55,322

Top Performers

$71,420

Estimated break-even: 9.6 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$369

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,610. Most students can comfortably afford about a $369 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 Texas buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Certificate Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 45.0%
Retail Trade 6.9%
Educational Services 6.2%

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

$60,067

Nominal: $55,322 in Texas (COL 92.1% of national avg) · 8.6% 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).

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 $36,544 $45,399 $53,510
5 Years After Graduation $43,656 $55,322 $71,420
10 Years After Graduation $48,905 $63,258 $84,362

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 $55,322 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in TX, which has a cost-of-living index of 92.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $55,322 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9210) = $60,067 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from Health Professions and Related Programs at Howard County Junior College District can expect a solid earnings trajectory. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $45,399, increasing to $55,322 five years post-graduation, and reaching $63,258 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the median earnings five years after graduation align more closely with a national equivalent of $60,067.32, indicating that graduates can maintain a competitive standard of living in Texas, where the cost of living index is slightly lower than the national average.

The majority of graduates enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sectors, with 45.0% of them working in this field immediately after graduation, and 34.5% and 18.3% entering similar roles in subsequent years. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 9.6 years, suggesting that the investment in education yields a favorable return over time. Overall, pursuing a career in health professions appears to be a sound decision for students, given the strong demand in the industry and the potential for increasing earnings.

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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.