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Health and Medical Administrative Services at Indian Hills Community College

IA · Associate's Degree · CIP 51.07

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Health and Medical Administrative Services degree from Indian Hills Community College earn a median salary of $44,340 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in IA, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $49,709. The degree typically pays for itself in 14.6 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

$35,626

Typical Career

$44,340

Top Performers

$55,335

Estimated break-even: 14.6 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$296

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $3,695. Most students can comfortably afford about a $296 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.1x 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 35.5%
Manufacturing 14.7%
Educational Services 8.9%

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

$49,709

Nominal: $44,340 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).

14.6 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 $28,969 $35,573 $45,171
5 Years After Graduation $35,626 $44,340 $55,335
10 Years After Graduation $37,935 $56,877 $70,184

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 $44,340 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)
= $44,340 × (1.0 ÷ 0.8920) = $49,709 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 Indian Hills Community College can expect a steady increase in earnings over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $29,900, which rise to $38,771 after five years and further to $43,987 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary aligns closely with the national equivalent at $43,465.25, reflecting a competitive position in the job market despite the lower cost of living index in Iowa (0.892 vs. national 1.0).

The majority of graduates find employment in the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, with 51.7% entering this field immediately after graduation. This trend continues with 37.3% and 35.5% of graduates remaining in the same industry over the following years. However, the estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 41.2 years, suggesting that while the program offers a pathway to stable employment, the return on investment may take considerable time to realize.

Compare with Another School

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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.