ROI Major

Legal Support Services at Naugatuck Valley Community College

CT · Associate's Degree · CIP 22.03

Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Legal Support Services degree from Naugatuck Valley Community College earn a median salary of $48,227 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in CT, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $41,827. The degree typically pays for itself in 12.7 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

$36,851

Typical Career

$48,227

Top Performers

$63,384

Estimated break-even: 12.7 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$322

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,019. Most students can comfortably afford about a $322 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 Connecticut buys what costs $1.15 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 37.7%
Manufacturing 8.6%
Educational Services 8.6%

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

$41,827

Nominal: $48,227 in Connecticut (COL 115.3% of national avg) · 13.3% 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).

12.7 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 $29,573 $40,024 $51,341
5 Years After Graduation $36,851 $48,227 $63,384
10 Years After Graduation $45,751 $57,867 $71,899

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 $48,227 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in CT, which has a cost-of-living index of 115.3% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $48,227 × (1.0 ÷ 1.1530) = $41,827 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Legal Support Services program at Naugatuck Valley Community College can expect a positive earnings trajectory over time. Median earnings one year after graduation stand at $41,635.00, increasing to $50,858.00 five years later, and reaching $65,081.00 by the ten-year mark. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent is approximately $44,109.28, reflecting the cost of living in Connecticut, which has a COL index of 1.153 compared to the national average of 1.0. This indicates that while initial earnings may be lower than in some regions, the long-term financial outlook remains favorable.

The top industries for graduates highlight a significant focus on Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 44.1% of employment, followed by a notable 37.7% in the same sector and 20.9% in Manufacturing. This distribution suggests that graduates have diverse opportunities, particularly in growing fields. The estimated break-even point for this educational path versus a high school-only route is approximately 10.6 years, indicating a reasonable return on investment for those who pursue this program. Overall, the data suggests that a degree in Legal Support Services can yield substantial long-term benefits in terms of earnings and career opportunities.

Compare with Another School

See how the Legal Support Services degree at Naugatuck Valley Community College stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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Other Degrees at Naugatuck Valley Community College

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.