MAJORS · 21 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a human services degree worth it?
Part of Public Administration and Human Services — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$26,415. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$26,415
across 81 bachelor’s programs · 10,835 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$45K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
−$58K ⟷ +$97K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
35.8%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
39
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
−$72K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$109K
Questions
- Is a human services degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 81 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Human Services is +$26,415 and the median is +$45,207. 35.8% 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 −$58,456 and +$97,207.
- How long until a human services degree pays off?
- Among Human Services programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 39 (FREOPP 2021). 35.8% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a human services major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Human Services graduates span −$58,456 to +$97,207 — a +$156K 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). “Human Services: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/human-services