MAJORS · 3 OF 19 BY ROI
Is a psychology degree worth it?
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$68,424. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$68,424
across 1,238 bachelor’s programs · 183,922 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$63K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
−$14K ⟷ +$146K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
27.9%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
41
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$1K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$111K
The biggest fields inside Psychology
- Psychology, General. 169,079 grads +$56K
- Research and Experimental Psychology. 9,146 grads +$307K
- Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. 4,820 grads +$12K
- Psychology, Other. 877 grads +$295K
Mean lifetime ROI per field, cohort-weighted. A category average hides this spread — and the per-school spread inside each field is wider still.
Questions
- Is a psychology degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 1,238 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Psychology is +$68,424 and the median is +$63,059. 27.9% of graduates in this category never break even on the degree. The honest answer depends heavily on the specific program and school: the middle half of graduates land between −$14,443 and +$145,973.
- How long until a psychology degree pays off?
- Among Psychology programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 41 (FREOPP 2021). 27.9% of graduates in the category are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a psychology major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Psychology graduates span −$14,443 to +$145,973 — a +$160K 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 category average.
↓ Download the data (CSV) · All 19 categories with full statistics. Free to cite with attribution. · Methodology
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Psychology: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/psychology