MAJORS · 11 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a nutrition & dietetics degree worth it?
Part of Health and Nursing — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, no — the mean lifetime ROI is −$39,849, by FREOPP’s own published number. The honest details matter.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
−$39,849
across 75 bachelor’s programs · 4,729 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
−$69K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
−$172K ⟷ +$67K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
65.5%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
36
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
−$81K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$105K
Questions
- Is a nutrition & dietetics degree worth it?
- On average no — across 75 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Nutrition & Dietetics is −$39,849 and the median is −$68,850. 65.5% 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 −$172,071 and +$67,014.
- How long until a nutrition & dietetics degree pays off?
- Among Nutrition & Dietetics programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 36 (FREOPP 2021). 65.5% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a nutrition & dietetics major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Nutrition & Dietetics graduates span −$172,071 to +$67,014 — a +$239K 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). “Nutrition & Dietetics: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/nutrition-and-dietetics