MAJORS · 11 OF 19 BY ROI
Is an agriculture and natural resources degree worth it?
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$303,357. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$303,357
across 876 bachelor’s programs · 62,977 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$267K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$82K ⟷ +$477K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
15.8%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
33
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$178K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$107K
The biggest fields inside Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Natural Resources Conservation and Research. 22,007 grads +$230K
- Animal Sciences. 9,981 grads +$273K
- Agricultural Business and Management. 8,199 grads +$604K
- Plant Sciences. 3,611 grads +$358K
- Agriculture, General. 3,490 grads +$196K
Mean lifetime ROI per field, cohort-weighted. A category average hides this spread — and the per-school spread inside each field is wider still.
Subfield deep-dives inside Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Is a natural resources conservation degree worth it? 22,007 grads +$183K
- Is an animal science degree worth it? 9,981 grads +$279K
- Is an agricultural business degree worth it? 8,199 grads +$568K
- Is a plant science degree worth it? 3,611 grads +$352K
- Is a general agriculture degree worth it? 3,490 grads +$190K
Median lifetime ROI per subfield, cohort-weighted. Each page carries the full statistics — spread, break-even age, the share who never break even.
How much of this work is AI already reaching for?
We read what the AI labs measured about their own machines. Microsoft and Anthropic scored how much of real occupations their AI is already used for — then warned it is not a measure of jobs being replaced. Here is where that lands Agriculture and Natural Resources, judged on where its graduates actually work — not where the degree theoretically leads.
Where Agriculture and Natural Resources graduates actually work — and how much of each job today’s AI is reaching for (0–1 applicability):
- 8% Managers, All Other 0.19
- 8% Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers 0.14
- 3% Veterinarians 0.23
- 2% Chief Executives 0.21
- 2% Project Management Specialists 0.23
And what people in this field actually bring to AI — the job tasks most taken to Claude, from Anthropic’s usage data:
- Analyze organic or inorganic compounds to determine chemical or physical properties, composition, structure, relationships, or reactions, using chromatography, spectroscopy, or spectrophotometry techniques.
- Write articles, manuals, and other publications, and assist in the distribution of promotional literature about facilities and programs.
- Answer customers' questions, and provide information on procedures or policies.
- Interpret and analyze policies, public issues, legislation, or the operations of governments, businesses, and organizations.
Exposure isn’t replacement. The score is how much of the task AI touches — not whether the job survives, which turns on judgment, licensure, physical presence, and trust. Sources: Microsoft Research “Working with AI” (CC BY 4.0), the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY), and U.S. Census ACS field-of-degree. Applicability scores are le-teen-derived, not original Microsoft figures; the task list is Anthropic’s observed Claude usage.
Questions
- Is an agriculture and natural resources degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 876 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Agriculture and Natural Resources is +$303,357 and the median is +$267,348. 15.8% of graduates in this field never break even on the degree. The honest answer depends heavily on the specific program and school: the middle half of graduates land between +$82,483 and +$477,211.
- How long until an agriculture and natural resources degree pays off?
- Among Agriculture and Natural Resources programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 33 (FREOPP 2021). 15.8% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for an agriculture and natural resources major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Agriculture and Natural Resources graduates span +$82,483 to +$477,211 — a +$395K spread within one major. The same field can be a strong trade at one school and a losing one at another, which is why the per-school number matters more than the field average.
- Will AI replace agriculture and natural resources jobs?
- Careful with that word. Two AI labs — Microsoft and Anthropic — measured how much of real occupations their own AI is *already being used for*, then explicitly warned it is NOT a measure of jobs being eliminated. On that measure, Agriculture and Natural Resources lands in the lower-exposure tier: the largest place these grads actually work is managers, all other (8% of them), where AI applicability sits at 0.19 on a 0–1 scale. Exposure means how much of the *task* AI touches — not whether the job survives, which also depends on judgment, licensure, physical presence, and trust. Near the bottom of AI's reach — this is work of bodies, care, and physical presence a model can't stand in for.
↓ Download the data (CSV) · All 19 categories with full statistics. Free to cite with attribution. · Methodology
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Agriculture and Natural Resources: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/agriculture-and-natural-resources