ROI Major

Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at Pueblo Community College

CO · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.08

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services degree from Pueblo Community College earn a median salary of $49,558 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in CO, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $47,153. The degree typically pays for itself in 12.5 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

$36,567

Typical Career

$49,558

Top Performers

$60,908

Estimated break-even: 12.5 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$330

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,130. Most students can comfortably afford about a $330 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 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 44.2%
Public Administration 9.8%
Educational Services 9.6%

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

$47,153

Nominal: $49,558 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).

12.5 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 $31,256 $40,806 $51,907
5 Years After Graduation $36,567 $49,558 $60,908
10 Years After Graduation $39,764 $57,208 $74,768

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 $49,558 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)
= $49,558 × (1.0 ÷ 1.0510) = $47,153 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services program at Pueblo Community College experience a gradual increase in earnings over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $26,405, which rises to $33,162 after five years and reaches $37,716 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equates to approximately $31,552.81 nationally, indicating that while initial earnings may be modest, there is potential for growth in real income over the years.

The majority of graduates enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, with a significant 45.2% employed in this field one year post-graduation. This trend continues, with 44.2% and 28.9% remaining in similar roles five and ten years later, respectively. However, the estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path exceeds ten years, suggesting that while there is a clear pathway into stable employment, the return on investment may take considerable time to materialize.

Compare with Another School

See how the Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services degree at Pueblo Community College stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

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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.