MAJORS · 7 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a fine arts degree worth it?
Part of Visual Arts and Music — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, no — the mean lifetime ROI is −$104,276, by FREOPP’s own published number. The honest details matter.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
−$104,276
across 590 bachelor’s programs · 48,588 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
−$97K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
−$224K ⟷ +$1K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
74.3%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
41
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
−$114K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$113K
Questions
- Is a fine arts degree worth it?
- On average no — across 590 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Fine Arts is −$104,276 and the median is −$97,340. 74.3% 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 −$224,041 and +$806.
- How long until a fine arts degree pays off?
- Among Fine Arts programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 41 (FREOPP 2021). 74.3% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a fine arts major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Fine Arts graduates span −$224,041 to +$806 — a +$225K 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). “Fine Arts: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/fine-arts