ROI Major

Business Administration and Management at Jefferson 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 Jefferson Community College earn a median salary of $45,201 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $34,243. The degree typically pays for itself in 15.7 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

$34,199

Typical Career

$45,201

Top Performers

$62,483

Estimated break-even: 15.7 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$301

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,767. Most students can comfortably afford about a $301 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.2x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.6x 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, Educational Services, Retail Trade.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 28.6%
Educational Services 11.6%
Retail Trade 11.3%

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

$34,243

Nominal: $45,201 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).

15.7 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 $22,584 $29,302 $40,074
5 Years After Graduation $34,199 $45,201 $62,483
10 Years After Graduation $40,056 $56,106 $82,260

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 $45,201 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)
= $45,201 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $34,243 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Business Administration and Management program at Jefferson Community College experience a steady earnings trajectory. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $29,302, increasing to $45,201 after five years, and reaching $56,106 a decade post-graduation. However, when adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary aligns more closely with $34,243.18 nationally, indicating that while earnings grow over time, the cost of living in New York (with a COL index of 1.32) may impact the real value of these earnings.

The program's graduates predominantly enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, which accounts for 28.6% and 19.6% of their employment, alongside Educational Services at 12.5%. The estimated break-even point for this educational path versus a high-school-only route is approximately 15.7 years, suggesting that while the investment in education may take time to pay off, the potential for higher earnings in stable industries can provide a favorable return on investment in the long run.

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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.