MAJORS · 56 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a journalism degree worth it?
Part of Communications and Journalism — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$235,809. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$235,809
across 217 bachelor’s programs · 26,180 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$250K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$82K ⟷ +$397K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
13.9%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
34
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$141K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$109K
Questions
- Is a journalism degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 217 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Journalism is +$235,809 and the median is +$250,486. 13.9% 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 +$82,001 and +$397,409.
- How long until a journalism degree pays off?
- Among Journalism programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 34 (FREOPP 2021). 13.9% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a journalism major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Journalism graduates span +$82,001 to +$397,409 — a +$315K 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). “Journalism: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/journalism