ROI Major

Business Administration and Management at Hudson Valley Community College

NY · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.02

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Business Administration and Management degree from Hudson Valley Community College earn a median salary of $52,791 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $39,993. The degree typically pays for itself in 10.3 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

$38,823

Typical Career

$52,791

Top Performers

$68,626

Estimated break-even: 10.3 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$352

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,399. Most students can comfortably afford about a $352 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 New York buys what costs $1.32 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Public Administration, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 22.9%
Public Administration 11.2%
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 8.7%

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

$39,993

Nominal: $52,791 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).

10.3 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 $24,080 $35,081 $50,550
5 Years After Graduation $38,823 $52,791 $68,626
10 Years After Graduation $51,686 $69,348 $91,492

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 $52,791 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)
= $52,791 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $39,993 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Business Administration and Management program at Hudson Valley Community College can expect a positive earnings trajectory over time. Median earnings one year after graduation stand at $35,081, which increases to $52,791 five years post-graduation and reaches $69,348 after ten years. However, when considering the cost of living in New York, the purchasing-power-adjusted salary for five years after graduation is approximately $39,993.18, indicating that while earnings grow, the cost of living may impact the real value of these salaries.

The program's graduates predominantly enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, which accounts for 37.8% of employment, followed by 22.9% in the same sector and 19.6% in Public Administration. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 10.3 years, suggesting that while the initial investment in education may take time to pay off, the long-term benefits in earnings and career opportunities in these growing industries may provide a favorable return on investment.

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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.