MAJORS · 88 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is an allied health degree worth it?
Part of Health and Nursing — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$640,176. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$640,176
across 235 bachelor’s programs · 14,055 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$583K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$327K ⟷ +$889K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
11.9%
MEDIAN PROGRAM-ESTIMATED BREAK-EVEN AGE
28
Among programs that break even; weighted by graduate cohorts. These are program estimates, not tracked individual graduate outcomes.
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$354K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$115K
Questions
- Is an allied health degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 235 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Allied Health is +$640,176 and the median is +$583,229. 11.9% of graduate cohort weight with reported break-even data is in programs flagged as never breaking even. The honest answer depends heavily on the specific program and school: the middle half of graduates land between +$327,395 and +$888,971.
- How long until an allied health degree pays off?
- For Allied Health, Among programs that break even, the median program-estimated break-even age, weighted by graduate cohorts, is 28. 11.9% of graduate cohort weight with reported break-even data is in programs flagged as never breaking even. FREOPP 2021.
- Does the school matter for an allied health major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Allied Health graduates span +$327,395 to +$888,971 — a +$562K 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.
↓ Download the data (CSV) · All 115 subfields with full statistics. Free to cite with attribution. · Methodology
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Allied Health: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/allied-health