ROI Major

Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at Lake Superior 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 Lake Superior College earn a median salary of $54,051 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in MN, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $57,440. The degree typically pays for itself in 10.8 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

$43,452

Typical Career

$54,051

Top Performers

$63,656

Estimated break-even: 10.8 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$360

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,504. Most students can comfortably afford about a $360 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 Minnesota buys what costs $0.94 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 49.5%
Public Administration 6.1%
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 5.9%

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

$57,440

Nominal: $54,051 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).

10.8 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 $35,478 $45,655 $54,294
5 Years After Graduation $43,452 $54,051 $63,656
10 Years After Graduation $48,144 $56,877 $62,548

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 $54,051 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)
= $54,051 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9410) = $57,440 National Average equivalent.

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

Career Verdict

Graduates of the Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services program at Lake Superior College experience a steady increase in median earnings over time. One year after graduation, the median earnings are reported at $34,226, rising to $40,680 after five years, and reaching $45,365 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the five-year salary aligns with a national equivalent of $43,230.61, indicating that graduates maintain a competitive earning potential relative to the national average despite the cost of living in Minnesota being slightly lower than the national index.

The majority of graduates enter the Health Care & Social Assistance sector, with 61.4% of them finding employment in this field. This trend is consistent, as the same industry accounts for 49.5% and 39.6% of graduates' employment in subsequent years. However, the estimated break-even point compared to a high-school-only path is approximately 31.1 years, suggesting that while the program offers a pathway to stable employment, the return on investment may take considerable time to materialize. Overall, students should weigh these factors carefully when considering their career trajectory in allied health.

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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.