MAJORS · 31 OF 115 SUBFIELDS BY ROI
Is a sociology degree worth it?
Part of Social Sciences excluding Economics — see the whole category’s numbers.
On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$93,653. But the spread is the real story.
MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED
+$93,653
across 611 bachelor’s programs · 53,832 graduates
MEDIAN GRADUATE
+$101K
MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN
−$2K ⟷ +$192K
NEVER BREAK EVEN
26.3%
MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE
37
ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES
+$22K
IF YOU DROP OUT
−$107K
Questions
- Is a sociology degree worth it?
- On average yes — across 611 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Sociology is +$93,653 and the median is +$100,670. 26.3% 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 −$1,549 and +$191,682.
- How long until a sociology degree pays off?
- Among Sociology programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 37 (FREOPP 2021). 26.3% of graduates in the field are in programs that never break even at all.
- Does the school matter for a sociology major?
- Enormously. The middle 50% of Sociology graduates span −$1,549 to +$191,682 — a +$193K 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). “Sociology: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/sociology