MAJORS · 105 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a biomedical engineering degree worth it?
Part of Engineering — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$1,024,909. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$1,024,909
across 114 bachelor’s programs · 7,385 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$1.05M
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$772K ⟷ +$1.29M
NEVER BREAK EVEN
0.2%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
28
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$789K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$129K
Questions
- Is a biomedical engineering degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 114 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Biomedical Engineering is +$1,024,909 and the median is +$1,051,908. 0.2% 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 +$771,807 and +$1,294,960.
- How long until a biomedical engineering degree pays off?
- Among Biomedical Engineering programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 28 (FREOPP 2021). 0.2% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a biomedical engineering major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Biomedical Engineering graduates span +$771,807 to +$1,294,960 — a +$523K 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). “Biomedical Engineering: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/biomedical-engineering