MAJORS · 9 OF 19 BY ROI
Is a public administration and human services degree worth it?
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$199,831. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$199,831
across 2,190 bachelor’s programs · 251,657 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$166K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
+$58K ⟷ +$295K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
15.6%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
36
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$55K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$108K
The biggest fields inside Public Administration and Human Services
- Criminal Justice and Corrections. 113,625 grads +$279K
- Health and Physical Education/Fitness. 64,238 grads +$81K
- Social Work. 31,740 grads +$34K
- Human Services, General. 10,835 grads +$26K
- Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management. 6,439 grads +$165K
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 public administration and human services degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 2,190 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Public Administration and Human Services is +$199,831 and the median is +$166,271. 15.6% 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 +$58,300 and +$294,687.
- How long until a public administration and human services degree pays off?
- Among Public Administration and Human Services programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 36 (FREOPP 2021). 15.6% of graduates in the category are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a public administration and human services major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Public Administration and Human Services graduates span +$58,300 to +$294,687 — a +$236K 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). “Public Administration and Human Services: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/public-administration-and-human-services