ROI Major

Health Professions and Related Programs — CIP 51.39 at Illinois Valley Community College

IL · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.39

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Health Professions and Related Programs — CIP 51.39 degree from Illinois Valley Community College earn a median salary of $61,304 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in IL, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $66,780. The degree typically pays for itself in 8.5 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

$48,062

Typical Career

$61,304

Top Performers

$73,373

Estimated break-even: 8.5 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$409

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $5,109. Most students can comfortably afford about a $409 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.6x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.8x 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, Retail Trade.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 42.0%
Manufacturing 9.2%
Retail Trade 6.1%

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

$66,780

Nominal: $61,304 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).

8.5 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 $35,340 $43,886 $53,677
5 Years After Graduation $48,062 $61,304 $73,373
10 Years After Graduation $54,051 $66,319 $80,540

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 $61,304 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)
= $61,304 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9180) = $66,780 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Health Professions and Related Programs at Illinois Valley Community College experience a steady increase in median earnings over time. One year post-graduation, the median earnings stand at $24,106, which rises to $33,510 after five years and reaches $45,289 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent is approximately $36,503.27, indicating that while initial earnings may be modest, the long-term financial outlook improves significantly, albeit with a longer break-even point of about 40.2 years compared to a high-school-only path.

The primary industries that graduates enter are predominantly within Health Care & Social Assistance, with 44.6% of graduates employed in this sector shortly after graduation. This trend continues with 42.0% and 29.3% of graduates remaining in similar roles over time. Given the strong industry demand and the potential for salary growth, the return on investment for pursuing a career in health professions at Illinois Valley Community College can be considered favorable, particularly for those committed to the 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.