ROI Major

Health and Medical Administrative Services at Illinois Central College

IL · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.07

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Health and Medical Administrative Services degree from Illinois Central College earn a median salary of $33,239 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in IL, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $36,208. 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

$27,429

Typical Career

$33,239

Top Performers

$42,309

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

Debt-to-Income Check

$222

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $2,770. Most students can comfortably afford about a $222 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 0.9x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.4x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Illinois buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 39.1%
Manufacturing 12.1%
Educational Services 6.0%

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

$36,208

Nominal: $33,239 in Illinois (COL 91.8% of national avg) · 8.9% 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).

>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 $22,038 $27,284 $32,068
5 Years After Graduation $27,429 $33,239 $42,309
10 Years After Graduation $28,825 $38,015 $47,289

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 $33,239 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in IL, which has a cost-of-living index of 91.8% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $33,239 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9180) = $36,208 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Health and Medical Administrative Services program at Illinois Central College experience a gradual increase in earnings over time. One year after graduation, the median earnings stand at $27,284, which rises to $33,239 after five years and reaches $38,015 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent nationally is approximately $36,208.06, indicating that while initial earnings may be modest, there is potential for growth as graduates gain experience in the field.

The majority of graduates find employment in the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, with 42.1% entering this industry immediately after graduation, followed by 39.1% and 29.0% in subsequent years. However, the estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path exceeds ten years, suggesting that while the program offers a pathway into a stable industry, the return on investment may take considerable time to materialize. This factor should be carefully considered by prospective students when evaluating their educational and career options.

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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.