ROI Major

Business Administration and Management at Pikes Peak State College

CO · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.02

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Business Administration and Management degree from Pikes Peak State College earn a median salary of $44,669 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in CO, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $42,501. The degree typically pays for itself in 22.5 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

$31,750

Typical Career

$44,669

Top Performers

$62,322

Estimated break-even: 22.5 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$298

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,722. 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 Colorado buys what costs $1.05 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 22.9%
Public Administration 11.7%
Educational Services 9.8%

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

$42,501

Nominal: $44,669 in Colorado (COL 105.1% of national avg) · 4.9% 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).

22.5 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 $29,542 $37,471 $51,223
5 Years After Graduation $31,750 $44,669 $62,322
10 Years After Graduation $33,960 $47,315 $65,669

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 $44,669 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in CO, which has a cost-of-living index of 105.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $44,669 × (1.0 ÷ 1.0510) = $42,501 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 Pikes Peak State College can expect a positive earnings trajectory. Median earnings one year after graduation stand at $39,360, increasing to $44,978 after five years and reaching $54,051 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary aligns closely with the national equivalent at approximately $42,795.43, indicating that while the cost of living in Colorado is slightly higher than the national average, graduates can still expect a reasonable return on their investment over time.

The top industries for graduates predominantly include Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for a significant portion of employment opportunities, with percentages of 35.2%, 34.9%, and 22.9% across various roles. Given the estimated break-even point of approximately 15.3 years compared to a high-school-only path, pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Management appears to offer a favorable return on investment. This suggests that graduates can expect to recoup their educational expenses while benefiting from enhanced career prospects in a growing sector.

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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.