ROI Major

Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services at Suffolk County Community College

NY · Associate's Degree · CIP 19.07

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services degree from Suffolk County Community College earn a median salary of $40,342 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $30,562. The degree typically pays for itself in 122.2 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

$33,078

Typical Career

$40,342

Top Performers

$64,402

Estimated break-even: 122.2 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$269

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,362. Most students can comfortably afford about a $269 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.0x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.5x 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, Educational Services, Retail Trade.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 27.2%
Educational Services 10.8%
Retail Trade 9.9%

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

$30,562

Nominal: $40,342 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).

122.2 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 $19,154 $26,659 $36,215
5 Years After Graduation $33,078 $40,342 $64,402
10 Years After Graduation

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 $40,342 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)
= $40,342 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $30,562 National Average equivalent.

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

Compare with Another School

See how the Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services degree at Suffolk County 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.