ROI Major

Teacher Education, Specific Levels and Methods at Laramie County Community College

WY · Associate's Degree · CIP 13.12

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Teacher Education, Specific Levels and Methods degree from Laramie County Community College earn a median salary of $40,729 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in WY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $43,748. The degree typically pays for itself in 13.9 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

$30,246

Typical Career

$40,729

Top Performers

$54,522

Estimated break-even: 13.9 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$272

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,394. Most students can comfortably afford about a $272 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.0x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.5x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Wyoming buys what costs $0.93 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 36.0%
Educational Services 12.9%
Public Administration 12.4%

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

$43,748

Nominal: $40,729 in Wyoming (COL 93.1% of national avg) · 7.4% 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).

13.9 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 $21,433 $27,096 $32,687
5 Years After Graduation $30,246 $40,729 $54,522
10 Years After Graduation $44,398 $64,402 $73,565

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 $40,729 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in WY, which has a cost-of-living index of 93.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $40,729 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9310) = $43,748 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Teacher Education, Specific Levels and Methods program at Laramie County Community College can expect a significant earnings trajectory over time. Median earnings one year after graduation stand at $27,096, which increases to $40,729 after five years and reaches $64,402 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent nationally is approximately $43,747.58, reflecting the cost of living in Wyoming, which has a COL index of 0.931 compared to the national average of 1.0. This indicates that while initial earnings may be modest, there is potential for substantial growth in income over the long term.

The primary industries that graduates enter include Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 51.3% of employment, followed by Construction at 26.1%. This suggests a strong alignment with sectors that are likely to continue growing. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 13.9 years, indicating that while the investment in education may take time to pay off, the long-term return on investment appears favorable, especially given the stability and demand in the fields graduates are entering.

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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.