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Health and Medical Administrative Services at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges

IA · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.07

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Health and Medical Administrative Services degree from Eastern Iowa Community Colleges earn a median salary of $49,118 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in IA, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $55,065. The degree typically pays for itself in 14.8 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

$37,179

Typical Career

$49,118

Top Performers

$67,118

Estimated break-even: 14.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$327

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,093. Most students can comfortably afford about a $327 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.3x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.6x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Iowa buys what costs $0.89 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 28.3%
Manufacturing 12.4%
Educational Services 10.0%

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

$55,065

Nominal: $49,118 in Iowa (COL 89.2% of national avg) · 12.1% 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).

14.8 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 $31,389 $41,058 $51,821
5 Years After Graduation $37,179 $49,118 $67,118
10 Years After Graduation $36,805 $52,031 $67,797

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 $49,118 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in IA, which has a cost-of-living index of 89.2% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $49,118 × (1.0 ÷ 0.8920) = $55,065 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Health and Medical Administrative Services program at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges can expect a steady earnings trajectory. One year after graduation, the median earnings stand at $38,712, which increases to $47,243 five years post-graduation. However, by the ten-year mark, earnings slightly decline to $46,435. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary reflects a national equivalent of $52,963, indicating that graduates may experience varying economic conditions based on location and inflation.

The primary industries for graduates are predominantly within Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 43.7% of employment, followed by another segment of Health Care & Social Assistance at 28.3%, and Manufacturing at 18.7%. The estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 22.4 years, suggesting a long-term return on investment for those pursuing this career. Overall, while the initial earnings may not be substantially high, the stability and growth potential in health-related fields can provide a reasonable return over time.

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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.