MAJORS · 17 OF 19 BY ROI

Is a transportation, construction, and architecture degree worth it?

On average, yes — the mean lifetime ROI is +$816,671. But the spread is the real story.

MEAN LIFETIME ROI · FREOPP 2021 · COHORT-WEIGHTED

+$816,671

across 277 bachelor’s programs · 20,784 graduates

MEDIAN GRADUATE

+$773K

MIDDLE 50% LAND BETWEEN

+$548K ⟷ +$1.06M

NEVER BREAK EVEN

0.8%

MEDIAN BREAK-EVEN AGE

29

ADJUSTED FOR REAL COMPLETION RATES

+$489K

IF YOU DROP OUT

−$120K

The biggest fields inside Transportation, Construction, and Architecture

  1. Architecture. 7,894 grads +$662K
  2. Air Transportation. 6,236 grads +$937K
  3. Landscape Architecture. 1,312 grads +$723K
  4. City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning. 1,118 grads +$457K
  5. Marine Transportation. 907 grads +$2.40M

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 transportation, construction, and architecture degree worth it?
On average yes — across 277 U.S. bachelor’s programs (FREOPP 2021, cohort-weighted), the mean lifetime ROI for Transportation, Construction, and Architecture is +$816,671 and the median is +$772,566. 0.8% 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 +$548,343 and +$1,057,231.
How long until a transportation, construction, and architecture degree pays off?
Among Transportation, Construction, and Architecture programs that do break even, the median graduate crosses into positive ROI at age 29 (FREOPP 2021). 0.8% of graduates in the category are in programs that never break even at all.
Does the school matter for a transportation, construction, and architecture major?
Enormously. The middle 50% of Transportation, Construction, and Architecture graduates span +$548,343 to +$1,057,231 — a +$509K 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). “Transportation, Construction, and Architecture: lifetime ROI statistics.” Data: FREOPP 2021. https://le-teen.com/majors/transportation-construction-and-architecture