ROI Major

Marketing at Kennebec Valley Community College

ME · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.14

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Marketing degree from Kennebec Valley Community College earn a median salary of $44,720 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in ME, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $39,297. The degree typically pays for itself in 13.8 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

$33,196

Typical Career

$44,720

Top Performers

$62,818

Estimated break-even: 13.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$298

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,727. Most students can comfortably afford about a $298 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 Maine buys what costs $1.14 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 53.0%
Educational Services 8.0%
Manufacturing 6.6%

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

$39,297

Nominal: $44,720 in Maine (COL 113.8% of national avg) · 12.1% 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).

13.8 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 $27,190 $34,840 $47,492
5 Years After Graduation $33,196 $44,720 $62,818
10 Years After Graduation $39,425 $59,105 $78,843

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 $44,720 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in ME, which has a cost-of-living index of 113.8% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $44,720 × (1.0 ÷ 1.1380) = $39,297 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Marketing program at Kennebec Valley Community College can expect a steady increase in earnings over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $34,840, which rises to $44,720 five years post-graduation and reaches $59,105 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the median earnings five years after graduation equate to approximately $39,297.01 nationally, reflecting the impact of the cost of living in Maine, where the COL index is 1.138 compared to the national average.

The primary industries that graduates enter predominantly include Health Care & Social Assistance, with a significant percentage of graduates (53.0%, 51.7%, and 36.1% respectively) finding employment in this sector. Given the estimated break-even point of approximately 13.8 years compared to a high-school-only path, the return on investment for pursuing a Marketing degree at Kennebec Valley Community College appears reasonable. The strong employment prospects in a growing industry may further enhance the overall value of this educational path.

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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.