MAJORS · 92 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a dental hygiene degree worth it?
Part of Health and Nursing — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$699,589. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$699,589
across 61 bachelor’s programs · 4,672 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$685K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$499K ⟷ +$872K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
1.9%
MEDIAN PROGRAM-ESTIMATED BREAK-EVEN AGE
27
Among programs that break even; weighted by graduate cohorts. These are program estimates, not tracked individual graduate outcomes.
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$364K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$114K
Questions
- Is a dental hygiene degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 61 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Dental Hygiene is +$699,589 and the median is +$685,216. 1.9% 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 +$498,606 and +$871,834.
- How long until a dental hygiene degree pays off?
- For Dental Hygiene, Among programs that break even, the median program-estimated break-even age, weighted by graduate cohorts, is 27. 1.9% of graduate cohort weight with reported break-even data is in programs flagged as never breaking even. FREOPP 2021.
- Does the school matter for a dental hygiene major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Dental Hygiene graduates span +$498,606 to +$871,834 — a +$373K 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). “Dental Hygiene: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/dental-hygiene