ROI Major

Business Administration and Management at Sauk Valley Community College

IL · Certificate Degree · CIP 52.02

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Business Administration and Management degree from Sauk Valley Community College earn a median salary of $48,343 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in IL, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $52,661. The degree typically pays for itself in 14.6 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

$35,528

Typical Career

$48,343

Top Performers

$62,393

Estimated break-even: 14.6 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$322

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,029. 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 Illinois buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Certificate Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 34.1%
Manufacturing 19.1%
Retail Trade 8.5%

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

$52,661

Nominal: $48,343 in Illinois (COL 91.8% of national avg) · 8.9% 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).

14.6 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 $26,592 $37,352 $52,518
5 Years After Graduation $35,528 $48,343 $62,393
10 Years After Graduation $39,360 $54,051 $71,360

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 $48,343 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in IL, which has a cost-of-living index of 91.8% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $48,343 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9180) = $52,661 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 Sauk Valley Community College can expect a positive earnings trajectory over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $37,352, which increases to $48,343 five years post-graduation and reaches $54,051 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent is approximately $52,661.22, indicating that graduates can expect their earnings to maintain value relative to the cost of living, particularly in Illinois, where the cost of living index is 0.918 compared to the national average of 1.0.

The program's graduates predominantly enter the Health Care & Social Assistance industries, with 45.3% of them working in this sector, followed closely by 34.3% and 34.1% in similar roles. This concentration suggests a strong alignment between the program's training and the demands of the job market. The estimated break-even point for graduates compared to those with only a high school diploma is approximately 14.6 years, indicating a reasonable return on investment for those pursuing this educational path, especially considering the stability and growth potential in the health care 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.