MAJORS · 20 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a food & nutrition degree worth it?
Part of Miscellaneous — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$17,966. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$17,966
across 58 bachelor’s programs · 7,373 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
−$9K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
−$11K ⟷ +$39K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
63.3%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
37
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
−$33K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$118K
Questions
- Is a food & nutrition degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 58 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Food & Nutrition is +$17,966 and the median is −$8,589. 63.3% 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 −$11,225 and +$39,010.
- How long until a food & nutrition degree pays off?
- Among Food & Nutrition programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 37 (FREOPP 2021). 63.3% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a food & nutrition major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Food & Nutrition graduates span −$11,225 to +$39,010 — a +$50K 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). “Food & Nutrition: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/food-and-nutrition