ROI Major

Mathematics at Kingsborough Community College/CUNY

NY · Associate's Degree · CIP 27.01

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Mathematics degree from Kingsborough Community College/CUNY earn a median salary of $50,676 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $38,391. 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

$37,285

Typical Career

$50,676

Top Performers

$65,353

Estimated break-even: 10.3 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$338

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,223. Most students can comfortably afford about a $338 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.3x 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, Educational Services, Public Administration.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 34.5%
Educational Services 11.8%
Public Administration 8.8%

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

$38,391

Nominal: $50,676 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 $22,808 $33,372 $51,223
5 Years After Graduation $37,285 $50,676 $65,353
10 Years After Graduation $49,035 $73,271 $98,849

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 $50,676 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)
= $50,676 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $38,391 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates with a Mathematics degree from Kingsborough Community College/CUNY experience a positive earnings trajectory, with median earnings of $33,372 one year after graduation, increasing to $50,676 after five years, and reaching $73,271 after ten years. However, considering the cost of living in New York, where the cost-of-living index is 1.32, the purchasing-power-adjusted five-year salary is approximately $38,390.91, indicating that while earnings grow, the local economic conditions may impact the real value of these salaries over time.

The top industries for Mathematics graduates include Health Care & Social Assistance, which employs 34.5% of graduates, followed by another segment of Health Care & Social Assistance at 20.1%, and Educational Services at 11.8%. The estimated break-even point for pursuing a degree versus a high-school-only path is approximately 10.3 years, suggesting that while the long-term financial benefits of a degree are evident, students should consider the time investment and local economic factors when evaluating the overall 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.