ROI Major

Marketing at Aims Community College

CO · Associate's Degree · CIP 52.14

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Marketing degree from Aims Community College earn a median salary of $54,615 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in CO, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $51,965. The degree typically pays for itself in 10.6 years.

Quick Insights

Slow Burn / High Debt Risk

How this degree looks at a glance

A fast read on salary range, break-even speed, living-cost impact, and where graduates from this school usually land.

Salary Ranges

Starting Range

$41,544

Typical Career

$54,615

Top Performers

$72,204

Estimated break-even: 10.6 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$364

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,551. Most students can comfortably afford about a $364 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.4x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.7x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Colorado buys what costs $1.05 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Public Administration, Educational Services.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 23.8%
Public Administration 11.4%
Educational Services 9.4%

Institution-wide industry mix for graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.

5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent

$51,965

Nominal: $54,615 in Colorado (COL 105.1% of national avg) · 4.9% lower purchasing power

10-Year Earnings Curve

Break-Even Timeline

How long until cumulative earnings advantage exceeds total college investment (tuition + opportunity cost vs. entering workforce directly after high school).

10.6 years to break even
Graduation 15 years

Total Investment

$155,168

4yr tuition + 4yr opportunity cost

HS Graduate Baseline

$38,792/yr

BLS 2023 median, HS diploma

View Raw Data: Median Earnings by Year
Timeframe 25th Pct. Median (50th) 75th Pct.
1 Year After Graduation $29,659 $42,146 $55,464
5 Years After Graduation $41,544 $54,615 $72,204
10 Years After Graduation $37,041 $59,848 $79,787

Source: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), 2025 release. Earnings shown for Bachelor's degree graduates (all cohorts combined).

How We Calculate Purchasing Power

The median salary of $54,615 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in CO, which has a cost-of-living index of 105.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $54,615 × (1.0 ÷ 1.0510) = $51,965 National Average equivalent.

COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →

Career Verdict

The earnings trajectory for Marketing graduates from Aims Community College shows a steady increase over time. Median earnings one year after graduation stand at $44,206, rising to $52,479 after five years, and reaching $68,521 a decade post-graduation. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary aligns closely with the national equivalent at $49,932.45, indicating that while graduates may face a slightly higher cost of living in Colorado, their earning potential remains competitive.

Graduates primarily enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, which accounts for 36.4% of employment, followed by Public Administration at 23.1%. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 9.7 years, suggesting that while the investment in a Marketing degree may take nearly a decade to recoup, the long-term financial benefits and diverse industry opportunities present a favorable return on investment for graduates.

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Data sources: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO). Cost-of-living index: BLS Regional CPI & MIT Living Wage Project. Cost of attendance: IPEDS. For informational use only; data may be suppressed for small cohort sizes.