MAJORS · 10 OF 19 BY ROI

Is a communications and journalism degree worth it?

On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$228,465. But the spread is the real story.

MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED

+$228,465

across 1,463 bachelor’s programs · 196,380 graduates

MEDIAN GRADUATE

+$239K

MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN

+$65K ⟷ +$384K

NEVER BREAK EVEN

16.5%

MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE

33

ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES

+$125K

IF YOU DROP OUT

−$114K

The biggest fields inside Communications and Journalism

  1. Communication and Media Studies. 109,334 grads +$257K
  2. Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. 28,380 grads +$323K
  3. Journalism. 26,180 grads +$236K
  4. Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. 19,584 grads +$63K
  5. Graphic Communications. 5,978 grads +$39K

Mean lifetime ROI per field, cohort-weighted. A category average hides this spread — and the per-school spread inside each field is wider still.

Questions

Is a communications and journalism degree worth it?
On average yes — across 1,463 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Communications and Journalism is +$228,465 and the median is +$239,246. 16.5% of graduates in this category never break even on the degree. The honest answer depends heavily on the specific program and school: the middle half of graduates land between +$65,369 and +$384,020.
How long until a communications and journalism degree pays off?
Among Communications and Journalism programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 33 (FREOPP 2021). 16.5% of graduates in the category are in programs that never break even at all.
Does the school matter for a communications and journalism major?
Enormously. The middle 50% of Communications and Journalism graduates span +$65,369 to +$384,020 — a +$319K 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 category average.

↓ Download the data (CSV) · All 19 categories with full statistics. Free to cite with attribution. · Methodology

Cite this:

LE TEEN (2026). “Communications and Journalism: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/communications-and-journalism