MAJORS · 15 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is an anthropology degree worth it?
Part of Social Sciences excluding Economics — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, no — the mean lifetime ROI is −$6,159, by FREOPP’s own published number. The honest details matter.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
−$6,159
across 258 bachelor’s programs · 13,359 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
−$14K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
−$125K ⟷ +$101K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
54.4%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
42
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
−$39K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$105K
Questions
- Is an anthropology degree worth it?
- On average no — across 258 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Anthropology is −$6,159 and the median is −$13,872. 54.4% 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 −$125,161 and +$100,996.
- How long until an anthropology degree pays off?
- Among Anthropology programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 42 (FREOPP 2021). 54.4% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for an anthropology major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Anthropology graduates span −$125,161 to +$100,996 — a +$226K 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). “Anthropology: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/anthropology