MAJORS · 67 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a hospitality management degree worth it?
Part of Business and Management — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$313,504. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$313,504
across 152 bachelor’s programs · 22,406 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$257K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$163K ⟷ +$434K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
5.1%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
33
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$181K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$110K
Questions
- Is a hospitality management degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 152 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Hospitality Management is +$313,504 and the median is +$257,269. 5.1% 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 +$163,440 and +$433,556.
- How long until a hospitality management degree pays off?
- Among Hospitality Management programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 33 (FREOPP 2021). 5.1% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a hospitality management major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Hospitality Management graduates span +$163,440 to +$433,556 — a +$270K 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). “Hospitality Management: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/hospitality-management