ROI Major

Accounting and Related Services at SUNY Broome Community College

NY · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.03

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Accounting and Related Services degree from SUNY Broome Community College earn a median salary of $47,773 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in NY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $36,192. The degree typically pays for itself in 14.4 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

$36,720

Typical Career

$47,773

Top Performers

$63,557

Estimated break-even: 14.4 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$318

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,981. Most students can comfortably afford about a $318 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 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 33.6%
Educational Services 8.6%
Retail Trade 8.0%

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

$36,192

Nominal: $47,773 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).

14.4 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 $28,218 $37,477 $49,912
5 Years After Graduation $36,720 $47,773 $63,557
10 Years After Graduation $41,469 $54,757 $76,435

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 $47,773 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)
= $47,773 × (1.0 ÷ 1.3200) = $36,192 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Accounting and Related Services program at SUNY Broome Community College can expect a positive earnings trajectory. One year after graduation, the median earnings stand at $37,477.00, which increases to $47,773.00 after five years, and reaches $54,757.00 after ten years. However, considering the cost of living in New York, where the cost of living index is 1.32 compared to the national average of 1.0, the purchasing-power-adjusted five-year salary is approximately $36,191.67, indicating that while earnings grow, they may not fully offset the higher living expenses in the state.

The top industries for graduates reveal a significant concentration in Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 41.6% of employment, followed by another segment in the same field at 33.6%, and Retail Trade at 9.0%. This suggests that graduates are primarily entering sectors that are stable and essential, providing a degree of job security. With an estimated break-even point of approximately 14.4 years compared to a high-school-only path, the overall return on investment for pursuing this degree appears to be favorable, especially given the potential for growth in earnings over time.

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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.