ROI Major

Legal Support Services at Zane State College

OH · Associate's Degree · CIP 22.03

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Legal Support Services degree from Zane State College earn a median salary of $41,920 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in OH, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $46,526. The degree typically pays for itself in 20.1 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

$30,314

Typical Career

$41,920

Top Performers

$54,898

Estimated break-even: 20.1 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$279

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,493. Most students can comfortably afford about a $279 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.1x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.5x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Ohio buys what costs $0.90 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 35.5%
Manufacturing 11.6%
Retail Trade 7.5%

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

$46,526

Nominal: $41,920 in Ohio (COL 90.1% of national avg) · 11% 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).

20.1 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 $24,323 $30,192 $39,579
5 Years After Graduation $30,314 $41,920 $54,898
10 Years After Graduation $38,141 $51,223 $62,818

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 $41,920 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in OH, which has a cost-of-living index of 90.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $41,920 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9010) = $46,526 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Legal Support Services program at Zane State College can expect a steady increase in earnings over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $30,192, which rises to $41,920 after five years and reaches $51,223 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary equivalent nationally is approximately $46,526.08, indicating that graduates' earnings may have a competitive edge when considering the cost of living in Ohio, where the college is located.

The top industries for graduates reveal a strong inclination towards Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 35.5% of employment, followed by additional roles in the same sector at 16.8% and Manufacturing at 16.0%. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 20.1 years, suggesting that while the return on investment may take time to realize, the potential for career growth in stable industries offers a reasonable long-term outlook for graduates entering the workforce.

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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.