ROI Major

Business Administration and Management at Onondaga 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 Onondaga Community College earn a median salary of $50,255 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $38,072. The degree typically pays for itself in 12.1 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

$37,225

Typical Career

$50,255

Top Performers

$66,153

Estimated break-even: 12.1 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$335

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,188. Most students can comfortably afford about a $335 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.3x 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, Retail Trade, Educational Services.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 21.5%
Retail Trade 10.7%
Educational Services 9.3%

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

$38,072

Nominal: $50,255 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).

12.1 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 $22,803 $32,444 $45,565
5 Years After Graduation $37,225 $50,255 $66,153
10 Years After Graduation $44,858 $62,314 $84,020

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 $50,255 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)
= $50,255 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $38,072 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Business Administration and Management program at Onondaga Community College experience a positive earnings trajectory over time. Median earnings one year after graduation stand at $32,444, increasing to $50,255 after five years, and reaching $62,314 a decade post-graduation. However, considering the cost of living index in New York (1.32 compared to the national average of 1.0), the purchasing-power-adjusted median earnings five years after graduation are approximately $38,071.97, indicating that while earnings grow, the cost of living may impact overall financial well-being.

The program's graduates predominantly enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, with 28.9% and 21.5% entering similar roles in the same field, alongside 21.5% in Public Administration. The estimated break-even point for those pursuing this degree versus a high-school-only path is approximately 12.1 years. This suggests that while the degree may offer a favorable return on investment in the long term, students should consider the time required to recoup educational expenses relative to potential earnings in their chosen field.

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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.