ROI Major

Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at Century College

MN · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.08

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services degree from Century College earn a median salary of $41,913 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in MN, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $44,541. The degree typically pays for itself in 19.8 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

$33,739

Typical Career

$41,913

Top Performers

$49,150

Estimated break-even: 19.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$279

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,493. Most students can comfortably afford about a $279 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.1x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.5x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Minnesota buys what costs $0.94 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Retail Trade, Construction.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 39.8%
Retail Trade 9.3%
Construction 6.7%

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

$44,541

Nominal: $41,913 in Minnesota (COL 94.1% of national avg) · 6.3% higher 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).

19.8 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 $31,675 $38,804 $44,388
5 Years After Graduation $33,739 $41,913 $49,150
10 Years After Graduation $40,401 $49,855 $61,332

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 $41,913 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in MN, which has a cost-of-living index of 94.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $41,913 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9410) = $44,541 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services program at Century College can expect a steady increase in earnings over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $38,804, rising to $41,913 after five years, and reaching $49,855 a decade post-graduation. When adjusted for purchasing power, the median five-year salary aligns with a national equivalent of approximately $44,540.91, indicating that graduates maintain a competitive earning potential relative to national standards despite the cost of living index in Minnesota being slightly lower than the national average.

The majority of graduates enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, with 39.8% employed in this field one year after graduation, and the percentage remains significant at 35.3% and 26.0% over the following years. The estimated break-even point for graduates compared to those with only a high school diploma is approximately 19.8 years, suggesting a long-term return on investment for those pursuing this educational path. Overall, the data indicates that a career in Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services offers a viable opportunity for stable employment and gradual income growth within a robust industry.

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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.