MAJORS · 29 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a health & physical education degree worth it?
Part of Public Administration and Human Services — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$81,005. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$81,005
across 638 bachelor’s programs · 64,238 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$78K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
−$10K ⟷ +$168K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
26.9%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
39
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$5K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$109K
Questions
- Is a health & physical education degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 638 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Health & Physical Education is +$81,005 and the median is +$77,932. 26.9% 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 −$10,095 and +$167,933.
- How long until a health & physical education degree pays off?
- Among Health & Physical Education programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 39 (FREOPP 2021). 26.9% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a health & physical education major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Health & Physical Education graduates span −$10,095 to +$167,933 — a +$178K 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). “Health & Physical Education: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/health-and-physical-education